Sunrise
by YouHadMeAtHelloxo
Summary: Sunrise: The start of a day...and about the time life starts up for the Camdens, Petrowskis, Riveras and Kinkirks. This story is based after the show has ended. Please read and review! FINISHED!
1. The Joys of Motherhood

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own 7th heaven, the WB, or anything pertaining to either.

_A/N_: I'm back!! My bit of a hiatus has come to an end as my health has started to improve. I hope that you will enjoy this first chapter, as well as the chapters to come. Please review when you finish reading!

**Sunrise**

**Chapter One, Part One: Introduction**

_This story takes place years after the show as we see it now. As this is MY story, it will not be exact to the show (for example, Sarah/Matt's first child is older than Lucy/Kevin's first, which is not true to the show) It will be pretty close. Please stick in there, as I think you will like the end result._

_Sarah and Matt Camden:_

The Camdens live in GlenOak with their two sons, Trevor (8) and Jared (5). They both work at GlenOak Hospital, Sarah as a Pediatrician, and Matt as an OB/GYN

_Mary and Carlos Rivera:_

The Riveras live in GlenOak with their son Charlie, who is 5. Carlos is a fire fighter, and Mary stays at home with Charlie. She enjoys occasionally being a chaperone in her son's kindergarten class.

_Lucy and Kevin Kinkirk:_

The Kinkirks live in GlenOak with their 4 daughters; Meg (6), twins Mia and Emily (4) and Riley (1). Kevin is a police officer and Lucy stays at home with the girls.

_Simon and Paige Camden:_

The Camdens live in New York City as lawyers. They have no children.

_Ruthie and Peter Petrowski:_

The Petrowskis live in Houston, Texas with their son, Cameron (5) and daughter, Allison (4). Peter is a teacher at the local High School, and Ruthie a horse riding instructor.

_Sam and Liz Camden:_

The Camdens live just out of Hollywood, where Liz works as a production assistant. Sam is an engineer. They have no children, and live 3 hours away from GlenOak.

_David and Anna Camden:_

The Camdens live in GlenOak with no children. They recently celebrated their one year wedding anniversary. David is a columnist for the newspaper, and Anna a hair stylist.

* * *

**Sunrise**

**Chapter 1, Part 2: The Joys Of Motherhood**

Sarah Camden smiled contently as she stepped into the bubble bath that she had prepared for herself. Today, she had taken the day off work and was thoroughly enjoying the break. She leaned her head back and shut her eyes. The quiet that met her ears was somewhat foreign in the Camden household. With two growing boys in the home, what more could one expect? After only 5 minutes of absolute bliss, the phone rang. Sarah cracked one eye open, moaned, and opened her other eye. At least no one could say her life was boring. She stood up and wrapped a towel around her self, then ran, picking up the phone on its final ring before transferring to answering machine. The voice that she heard on the other end, was not one that she was expecting, nor one that she liked to hear.

"Hello, Mrs. Camden. This is Carol Joyce, the principal at Kingston Elementary. Trevor's in a bit of trouble, and it would be greatly appreciated if you could come down to the office as soon as possible." Sarah's stomach sank. What had her 8 year old done this time?

"All right, Mrs. Joyce, I'll be right down." She said. With a sigh she hung up the phone. She walked over and drained the tub, then walked into she and Matt's closet, donning a clean outfit. She grabbed her car keys and started for the school.

When she arrived in the office, one of the secretaries showed her into the principal's office, where she saw her son and another boy whom she did not recognize, holding an ice pack on his face. Trevor was staring at the floor, unwilling to make eye contact with his mother. Mrs. Joyce stood and reached out, shaking Sarah's hand.

"Thank you for coming, Mrs. Camden. Please have a seat. Now, Trevor, why don't you tell your mother what happened." Trevor continued staring at the floor while he spoke.

"Me and John was playin' outside during recess, and he wanted to play tag, but I said no. Then he started chasing me anyways! I told him no again, but he wouldn't stop! I told him no again, but he still chased me! So…I…" He paused and sighed deeply. "I…um…punched him." Sarah gasped and shook her head. She looked at the other boy, who she presumed was John. He lifted the ice pack he was holding to reveal an eye that was obviously on the way to being black. The skin around it was swollen.

"The punishment for hitting another child here at Kingston is a one day suspension, which Trevor will be receiving. He will not be allowed at school tomorrow, and all work that he misses will be counted as zeros, as is the policy with suspensions." The principal explained. "In addition, we'd like you to take Trevor home now." Sarah nodded and stood up. "It's Wednesday today, so we'll see you Friday." The boys stood and Sarah reached out, holding Trevor's shoulder and steering him out of the office and into their car. Their ride home was silent. When they stepped through the door, Sarah looked down at her son.

"Go do your homework that you got so far in your room. I'll be down here if you need me." She told him. He sighed and started up the stairs. When he was gone, Sarah put her hand on her forehead and sighed even more deeply than her son just had. So much for a day off…

* * *

Lucy Kinkirk pulled into the garage after picking up her four year old twin daughters from their ½ day preschool. She walked around and opened up the door of her van. Mia and Emily wiggled excitedly as Lucy unhooked their car seat buckles. As soon as they were free, the girls jumped out of the car and took off into the house. She leaned in farther and saw her one year old, Riley, sound asleep in her car seat. She carefully unbuckled her and picked her up, shutting the door and carrying the semi-conscious infant into her room, placing her softly into her crib. Riley squirmed a little, then drifted back off to sleep. Lucy tiptoed out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she was met with the sound of silverware clinking in rhythm against the table.

"Lunch Time! Lunch Time! Lunch Time!" Mia and Emily chanted in unison, in rhythm with the silverware clinks. Lucy shushed them and laughed.

"Your usual, princesses?" She asked. The girls nodded excitedly and Lucy turned to the fridge. She first grabbed two cups of the same style, one orange and one yellow, that had an open top, and handles on each side. She had filled them an hour earlier with apple juice. She carried them over to the girls.

"I want sippy!" Mia called.

"Sippy! Sippy!" Emily yelled shortly after.

"It's time that we start letting you girls drink out of big girl cups. You know that silly." She handed them their cups and went back to the counter fixing two sandwiches, a peanut butter and jelly for Emily, and cheese for Mia. The delivery of their lunches was met with cheers. As they began to eat, crying became the main noise in the household and Lucy sighed. Looked like Riley wasn't going down for her nap yet after all. She walked in and picked up the crying 1-year-old.

"Hi beautiful!" Lucy greeted her daughter, as she did every time she picked her up from her nap.

"Hi mama!" Riley cooed back. Lucy smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

"Ready for some lunch?" She asked. Riley answered an enthusiastic yes and wiggled for her mother to put her into her high chair. "What would you like to eat?" she asked.

"Fruit Salad!" She cheered, which in reality sounded more like 'fwuit sawad'. Lucy smiled. She loved to hear how Riley was learning to speak. She currently knew a few small phrases and words, like mama, daddy, and of course, fruit salad, which was one of her favorite meals. Lucy cut up a banana and some grapes, then dropped the pieces onto the tray of the high chair. She then delivered a small bowl of apple sauce and a sippy cup full of water. Riley thanked her mother in a very young sounding voice, and started eating with her fingers. Lucy glanced at the clock and saw that it was 1:00. Only 2 hours until it was time to pick up her oldest daughter, Meg, from 1st grade. She yawned loudly. Life as the mother of four young daughters certainly wasn't an easy one, but she loved it just the same.

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A/N: Please review! Let me know what you think : - ) 


	2. Silence is Golden

_For Disclaimer, please see chapter one. Thanks. I made up "Maisy's Market" for this chapter._

_A/N:_ Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad that you guys are happy with my return

: - ) I hope that you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the last. And of course…don't forget to review. Thanks!

* * *

**Sunrise**

**Chapter Two: Silence is Golden**

The next morning, Trevor Camden came bounding down the stairs with a huge smile on his face. He spun around the kitchen counter and ran to the table where his mother was sitting, drinking her coffee and reading the newspaper.

"No school!" He cried, startling Sarah. Five year old Jared, who was eating breakfast, looked at his brother and frowned.

"Yah huh, Trev, there is too school today." He said.

"Yes, there is. Trevor just has to stay home because he was very misbehaved at school yesterday." Sarah tried to explain. "Now, Trev, you're off school today as a punishment, not for a fun time. Why don't you go clean your room. I'm going to take Jared to school in a few minutes, but I'll be back soon."

"Fine…" Trevor said sadly and started up the stairs again. Sarah had to laugh. He was pouting as if she'd asked him to sell everything he owned. She turned to her younger son.

"About done, honey?" She asked. Jared nodded as he put his last bite of cereal in his mouth. He put his bowl in the dish washer and grabbed his back pack. "Ready to go?"

"Yep!" Jared called. Sarah grabbed her car keys and they got in the car. As they pulled out, they saw Trevor looking out his window at them, holding a few toys. Today would be a long day.

* * *

Lucy Kinkirk pushed her cart down the isle at Maisy's Market. Riley sat in the seat in the front while Mia, Emily, and six year old Meg walked along side. In all reality, 'walked' isn't the best word to describe what the twins were doing. It was closer to 'ran wildly, giggling all the while'. Lucy shook her head, exhausted, as she realized that maybe going from picking up the kids at school to the store wasn't the best idea she'd ever had. Riley reached out and knocked a box off the shelf, cooing excitedly as she did so.

"Uh oh…" She cried "Bye Bye, box!" Lucy stopped the cart and looked at her youngest daughter with her hands on her hips. Riley broke into another fit of giggles. "oops."

"Riley Marie Kinkirk!" Lucy scolded, reaching down and getting the box. She replaced it on the shelf. As they continued their shopping trip, the family encountered 2 more fallen boxes, one temper tantrum, and many angry shoppers. As soon as the family arrived home, the girls all began playing. Meg played doll house with Mia and Emily, while Riley played with her blocks on the floor in front of the television while her mother put away the groceries. As if on cue, as soon as she finished, Kevin walked through the door. With him were Mary and her five year old son, Charlie.

"Hey, honey, Mary, Charlie!" Lucy greeted, kissing her husband, then looking at him, her eyes demanding an answer. Kevin laughed.

"I thought that maybe you and I could go out to dinner, and so I called Mary to see if she would mind watching the girls, and obviously, she said she would."

"And I brought Charlie, I hope that's OK." Mary said apologetically. "Carlos isn't home from work yet, and I couldn't leave him alone."

"Oh, it's fine, don't worry about it." Lucy told her. "Girls! Come here please!" Riley, who was still learning to walk, got up using the sofa, took to steps, then fell down, bursting into tears. Lucy laughed and walked over picking up the one year old and bringing her back into the kitchen.

"Aunt Mary!" Chorused Mia and Emily as they wrapped their arms around her legs. "And Charlie." Emily said, laughing quietly. "Can't forget Charlie."

"Charlie!" Riley screamed, clapping her hands. Lucy laughed and shushed her daughter. Riley leaned forward, now whispering "Hi Charlie!" Mary laughed loudly.

"Well Luce, at least she listens a bit!" The women laughed. As Lucy handed Riley over to Mary, Meg finally entered the kitchen and greeted her aunt and cousin. Lucy grabbed turned to Kevin.

"I'm going to go change really fast; I'll meet you in the car, OK?" Kevin nodded and Lucy ran to their room. She quickly changed into a knee length red cocktail dress, grabbed her purse, and made her way into the kitchen again. As she passed the kids to get into the garage, Riley let out an ear piercing scream.

"Mama!" She cried, wiggling around and trying to get loose from her Aunt's arms. "Mama! No leave!" She sobbed. Lucy walked over and brushed back the hair around her youngest child's eyes.

"Mommy's going to dinner with daddy. We'll be back soon. Aunt Mary's going to stay with you. I expect _all_ of you to be on your best behavior. Do you understand?" There was a chorus of three yeses, but Riley remained unconvinced.

"No. No leave." She said firmly, crossing her small arms over her chest. Lucy shook her head seriously.

"Goodbye, Riley, I'll be home later." She looked at Mary. "I have my cell just in case. Don't hesitate to call me if she won't calm down." She told her, over the noise of the one-year-old's tantrum. "Bye Meg, bye Mia, bye Emmy!" She called, and walked out the door, running to the passenger side of Kevin's car and climbed in. With a sigh of relief she turned to her husband.

"Ahh…silence truly is golden." She said with a smile. Kevin laughed and leaned over to kiss her before backing out of the driveway. When they arrived at the restaurant, Lucy saw that they had a reservation. A server led them to a beautifully set table with a crème colored table cloth, and two cranberry colored candles. "This is beautiful!" Lucy said, gasping.

"I'm glad that you like it, Luce." He told her, pulling out her chair so that she could sit down. After his wife was seated, Kevin took the seat across from her. "So how did your day go?" Lucy laughed softly.

"Well, it was busy like usual. We had an…interesting…shopping trip. Guess that's part of the job, huh?" Kevin smiled at her. "How was yours?"

"Not bad. We didn't have too many calls today, so it was sort of slow, but that's better than having too many calls for us to handle." Lucy nodded in agreement.

"So what's all this for?" Lucy asked suspiciously.

"Well," Kevin leaned forward and took his wife's hands in his. "I've been thinking about it a lot lately…and well, Riley's one now…I was just thinking…do you want to start trying for another?" Lucy's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped.

"Kevin!" She cried. "Another? No!"

"Don't try to sugar coat it or anything…" Kevin said with a laugh.

"Well, Kev, I mean…have you not _seen_ how full our hands are already? Maybe, _maybe, _in a few years…but not now! Jeese!" Kevin laughed. "Yeah, haha, very funny. You try staying home with those for all day every day. You'd react the same way!" Kevin nodded.

"I probably would." He told her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." Lucy sighed.

"It's OK." She laughed. "I might have over reacted just a little…" Kevin nodded.

"Maybe so." Kevin said, smiling. Their conversation was cut short when their food arrived, which they enjoyed very much, laced into their, more light-hearted chatter.

_A/N:_ Ha ha! I hope that you enjoyed this as I did writing it. Please review, it is always appreciated!


	3. A Busy Day

_Please see chapter one for disclaimer. Thanks. I also do not own Uno, Microsoft Word, or any fast food chain mentioned in the chapter._

_A/N:_ Thank you for so many positive reviews! It makes my writing seem easier. When you finish reading, please remember to review!

Thank you to GeorgeStultsFan for pointing out an error in the chapter that has since been fixed.

* * *

**Sunrise**

**Chapter Three: A Busy Day**

Meanwhile…

Mary Rivera sighed and looked around her at the mass chaos that had unfolded. Meg and Charlie played a rather loud game of 'Uno', while Mia screamed loudly that she wanted to play too. It would have been nice if either of the older children would have let the four year old join them, but of course it wasn't happening, nor did Mary suspect it would ever come true tonight. The other twin, Emily, was walking around carrying her baby doll, singing ear-piercing lullabies. The loudest of all, however, was Riley, who was occasionally breaking into sobs and yelling "Mama". She yawned and looked at the clock. Lucy and Kevin would be home soon, thank goodness. She approached Riley, who was, at the moment, quietly playing with her toes. She reached down and picked her up.

"I think it's about bedtime, cutie. Why don't we go put your pajamas on?" She asked quietly. Riley's sweet smile quickly changed to an angry frown.

"No! No bedtime. No! No!" She protested loudly. Mary shook her head, frustrated. This was never going to work.

"All right. I guess you can stay up until mommy and daddy get home." Riley smiled triumphantly as her aunt placed her back on the ground. As Mary stood back up, she heard the garage door opening. Lucy and Kevin were home, and just in time. They walked through the door moments later.

"How were they?" Lucy asked. Mary smiled.

"They were fine…loud, but fine. I'm used to having one child around, and this evening I had five!" They both laughed. Lucy reached into her purse and grabbed a twenty dollar bill, holding it out to Mary.

"Oh! You don't have to pay me Luce, I love watching my nieces." She told her sister. Lucy looked reluctant for a moment, but then put her money away. She hugged Mary.

"Thanks so much for doing this on such short notice."

"It's no problem!" Mary said. "Charlie!" she called, "Come on, time to go home!" The five-year-old obediently came over to his mother. "Bye girls!" She called.

"Bye Mary, bye Charlie." Lucy and Kevin said together, then laughed. After Mary and her son had left, Lucy turned to the living room, which looked like a small tornado had been through.

"Come on Riles." She said, picking up her youngest child. "It's bed time."

"No!" Riley cried. "Stay up!" Lucy laughed and shook her head, carrying the squirming child into her bedroom and laying her in her crib.

"Goodnight, sweetie. I'll see you in the morning." Riley answered with another loud "no" but Lucy ignored it and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Riley cried loudly for five minutes, but finally settled down as her mother tucked in Emily and Mia, and her father tucked in Meg. When she was finished, Lucy walked out into the living room to survey the damage. There were tons of games out, with the added touch of Uno cards sprawled over everything. There were two baby dolls on the sofa with a baby doll stroller on its side in front. She put her hand on her head, which felt like it was going to explode. Ever since Kevin had suggested that they have another baby, her headache had been getting worse and worse, and now she felt as if she was going to die. Kevin came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What's wrong?" He asked her, seeing the look on her face.

"My head just hurts. I'll go to bed right after I get this cleaned up." She said, starting for the mess. Kevin stopped her.

"Go to bed, I'll clean this up." He told her. Lucy smiled and thanked him. They kissed and Lucy started down the hall to their bedroom. Kevin looked at the mess. Maybe offering to clean this up himself hadn't been the greatest idea. With a sigh, he leaned forward and began picking up the mess.

* * *

David Camden shook his head angrily as he stared at the blank word document on his laptop screen. He had been working on his column for the Glen Oak tribune for the last forty-five minutes, yet was still left with nothing. He was completely out of ideas, and it was beginning to really frustrate him. He thought hard for a subject of a column. Just then, his wife, Anna, entered the room. She went up behind where he was sitting in his chair and put her arms loosely around his neck. She began kissing his neck and ear. He shook his head.

"Anna, I'm working." He said in a monotone voice, not taking his eyes off the computer screen. Anna surveyed what her husband had finished so far. Seeing that he had nothing, she laughed.

"Working, huh?" She asked playfully. David ignored her. She huffed and stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine, be that way." She said. "I'm going to go get some lunch, do you want anything?" She asked.

"From where?" David asked, still sounding monotone.

"Oh, I don't know…Panda Express, or maybe Wendy's…oo, Wendy's sounds good." David gasped.

"Fast food! I'll write about fast food!" He cried.

"That's nice. Do you want anyth—"

"Shh! I'm thinking!" David cut her off. Anna shook her had and walked out of the room.

"Men…"

* * *

Ruthie Petrowski let out a sigh of relief as she felt the wind in her hair. She had just finished giving her last horse riding lesson of the day, and decided to take a ride on one of the horses before she headed home for the day. The horse, Stormy, galloped along the horse trail that ran along the outskirts of the nearby park, where she often brought her children to play. She glanced at her watch. It was 4:48. _"4:48 already?" _She wondered to herself. Her last lesson had ended at 4:30, and it didn't feel as if it had already been almost 20 minutes. _"Oh well. Time flies."_ She thought. _"I should head back soon. Peter has that meeting tonight for…oh I don't know, I wasn't really listening. I think he said it was at 5:30. I hope he's giving dinner to Cameron and Allison before he gets ready." _She sighed as she realized that she had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't even realized that she was at the end of the trail. Story slowed to a walk until Ruthie dug her heels into his side to get him to trot again. They soon arrived back at the stable, where she put Stormy into his stall. She grabbed her purse from the small cabinet near the ground, and started for her car. When she arrived home at 5:15, she was greeted by Peter at the door entering from the garage to their home.

"Where have you been?" He questioned. "I have a meeting at 5:30, I told you!"

"I know, I know." Ruthie answered, pushing past him to get into the kitchen. "Did you feed the kids?"

"No, I've been getting ready to go. We're right in the middle of rush hour, I better not be late. I'm leaving now, bye." He pecked her quickly on the cheek then climbed into his car and backed out of the garage. Ruthie shook her head.

"Cam! Allie!" She called. The kids came into the kitchen. "What do you guys want for dinner?" She asked.

"Spaghetti!" Cameron cried excitedly.

"Pasketti!" Echoed Allie. At four, the same age as Lucy's twins, she had _mostly_ mastered the English language, but she still had some trouble with some words. Ruthie opened the fridge and grabbed the back of left of spaghetti noodles. She put them into three bowls and reheated them in the microwave while she got the left over sauce out of the fridge. After the spaghetti had been reheated, she but the sauce in and did the same. When the microwave beeped, she pulled out the container of sauce.

"Cameron, do you want sauce?" She asked.

"Yes please." He answered.

"Allie?"

"Nope." Ruthie put sauce on her and Cameron's noodles, then carried the bowls over to the table, where they all took a seat and began eating. "Thank you, mama." Allison said.

"Your welcome, sweetie. So, how was school, cam?"

"Fine." He answered, like he did every time she asked that question. She turned to her youngest child.

"And how as school for you, Allison?"

"Fun." She answered excitedly. "We got to do finger paints today! Me and Kylie sat together and it was fun." She answered, all in one breath.

"That's cool. And did you have fun with Jenna after school?" She asked. Since Allison was only in preschool, she only had to go to school for a half day, and since Ruthie and Peter both worked, Ruthie had to have a babysitter daily. Jenna, the babysitter, was a senior in high school, and because she had enough credits taken care of already, she got out of school at 10:28. She picked Allison up from school at noon, and stayed with her until Peter returned home after finishing work and picking up Cameron from Kindergarten.

"Yeah! We played dollies." She said happily. Dollies was one of Allison's very favorite games. As the evening continued, they finished their dinner, and decided to watch a movie, just the three of them. As they did so. Ruthie began to realize how glad she was she didn't work late. As much as she loved her job, she loved her family much, much more.

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A/N: I hope that you liked this! Please don't forget to review. Look for chapter 4, coming soon to a computer near you! 


	4. Small Disasters

_Please see chapter one for disclaimer._

_A/N:_ As usual, thank you so much for reviewing! For those of you who also author on the site, you know how reviews really help you to write! Enjoy and review! Oh, and in case you haven't yet noticed, the chapters of this story are very often based on the Kinkirk family. They are the holders of the main plot  
: - )

* * *

**Sunrise**

**Chapter Four: Small Disasters**

Paige Camden jumped out of her taxi, holding her purse in one hand, and a small paper bag in the other. She dashed up the stairs of her apartment building and soon arrived in the small but cozy apartment that she and her husband, Simon shared. Checking the clock, she smiled. She certainly couldn't be told that she was not sneaky! She had cancelled a meeting so that she could get out of the office early today. She knew from talking to her husband that morning that he was in court today, which didn't get him home until about six. With a meeting ending at 5:30, she knew she couldn't cut it that close. Now only 4:50, she smiled at her stealth. She opened the paper bag that she was holding and took out the small cardboard box inside. As soon as she saw the pregnancy test in her hand, chills ran down her spine. As very busy lawyers in New York City, she and her husband were definitely not planning on having children any time soon. They were quickly approaching the top of their game, and were not going to let anything take that away.

Paige put her hand on her head and sighed. If she were pregnant, everything would change. She and Simon had been taking every precaution available to prevent a pregnancy. Lately, however, she had been feeling exhausted, and increasingly nauseous. She put her hand over her stomach subconsciously as she studied the box. From what she could tell after skimming the directions, this didn't seem to be too big of a task. How could something so simple reveal something so complicated?

She sighed and sat her purse down. She didn't have all day to sit and think of the what-ifs. Her husband would be home soon. She reached into the bag again and grabbed another identical box. If she was going to take the time to do this, she wasn't going to stand for an incorrect reading. From what she had heard, it was always smart to get more than one. For once, she was taking someone else's advice, rather than someone taking hers. She laughed quietly at the irony. She sighed deeply and sat the empty bad on the counter, carrying the two boxes into the bathroom, and shutting the door behind her.

When she emerged a minute later, she paced through the apartment nervously. It would be five minutes until the results were clear. She straightened up the living room quietly, trying to take her mind off what she was inevitably thinking about. She glanced across the room at the small timer that she had set. 3 minutes left. She lowered herself onto the sofa. As she saw herself in the mirror across from her, she laughed. "_Just look at me._" She thought to herself. _"I'm one of New York City's top lawyers! I can make grown men cry like little girls. I'm not some emotional little pansy! But that's what I look like…"_ She sat up straighter and fixed her hair, which looked like it had just barely survived a tornado of some sorts.

She stood up and walked over to the shelf that was in the corner of the room. Smiling, she picked up her favorite picture, which was framed on her bed side table. She and Simon, dressed in a wedding dress and tux, respectively, looked into each other's eyes happily, a new married couple. That photo had been taken in the half hour time frame between their marriage and reception, three years ago. Again, she studied herself in the mirror. Despite her efforts, her light brown hair was still in disarray. As she reached up to try again to fix it, she leaped. The ding of her timer could be heard through out the apartment. Once more, her body filled with chills, and she turned to face the bathroom. She approached the sink slowly, unable to look. Taking a deep breath she looked into the mirror. _"You can do this." _She reassured herself. She reached down and picked up the two tests. She quickly grabbed one of the boxes, checking for what sign meant negative and which meant that the test was positive. She put the box down with a sigh of relief, and sat the tests on top. Looking into the mirror, she laughed at her frazzled appearance and tossed the tests and boxes into the trash, returning rapidly to life as she knew it. Both tests read negative.

* * *

"Amelia Grace Kinkirk!" Lucy cried angrily as she entered her twin daughters' bedroom. There was toiled paper strewn everywhere with marker lines on the once white paper. 

"My name's Mia!" The four-year-old yelled back.

"Not when you're in trouble, young lady. Now _what_ happened in here?" Mia stood, her hands on her hips.

"Me and Emily decorated! Our room was way too boring." She explained. Lucy shook her head, imagining all the time that cleaning this up would take.

"Where, exactly, is your partner in crime?" She asked. At the moment, Emily entered the room, carrying two more rolls of toilet paper.

"Found it!" She said triumphantly. "She keeps it in the laundry roo-" She stopped, her eyes growing wide as she became aware of her mother's presence. "Hi…mama…" She greeted slowly. "I'll go put this away now…" She turned quickly and ran back down the hall, white trails behind her. Riley crawled into the room after her sister's departure, her hands covered in marker ink.

"Colors!" She cried happily, holding up her hands for better viewing. "Pretty." She said with a smile. Lucy sighed and walked over to her one-year-old, picking her up carefully. She turned to Mia.

"I need to go get your sister cleaned up, but believe me, we are _not_ finished." She looked down the hall. "Meg could you come here please?" she called. Meg appeared in her bedroom door and laughed.

"Whoa…what happened to her?" She asked, still giggling.

"This is nothing wait till you see the twins' room. Would you do mommy a favor and go get Emily, then help she and Mia start to clean up while I give Riley a bath please?"

"Ok." She said, taking off down the hall to find Emily. Lucy carried the baby into the bath room and sat her on the edge of the sink. She turned on the water and lathered some soap all over her daughter's multi-colored skin. When she was satisfied, she pushed Riley slightly forward, holding her arms under the water. The baby screeched loudly.

"No!" She yelled, the tears starting. "Owe! Cold!" She sobbed. Lucy reached forward and turned up the temperature, but Riley's cries continued loudly. "Mama!" She whined. Lucy looked at her.

"You get no sympathy, little one." When she finished getting as much ink off as possible, she carried the child into her room and put her into her crib pulling up the sides. Riley's crying became even louder.

"No! No crib! No, no!" She screamed. Lucy put her finger on her lips.

"Yes crib. You need to sit in here for awhile while mama goes and takes care of you sisters. It won't be for long. You'll be perfectly fine." She leaned over and grabbed the pink blanket that was draped over the edge of the rocking chair. "Do you want blankie?" She asked,

"Blankie!" Riley reached out, whining. Lucy handed the blanket to her. Riley took it, and sat down, with her back facing the door. She put the blanket over herself, pouting. Lucy rolled her eyes. Her youngest child was quickly becoming the drama queen of the home. She walked out of the bedroom and went back into the twins' room, where she was glad to see things were slowly being cleaned up. She winked at Meg and mouthed "thanks". The six-year-old nodded her head, and continued helping her sisters clean. Lucy leaned against the wall, supervising. She laughed to herself. Who knew that her daughters could cause this much damage during the 10 minute break she took just to eat a quick lunch?

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_A/N:_ I hope that you liked this. I enjoyed writing it. You know I'd love it if you reviewed! Thanks! Look for chapter five soon. 


	5. Surprises

_For disclaimer, see chapter one._

_A/N:_ Hey guys. Thanks for all the reviews. I'm sorry that it took me awhile to update. I'm suffering from some severe writer's block. Haha. Let's hope that it goes away soon. Don't forget to review! If any of you have any ideas for this story, they would be greatly appreciated. Please e-mail them to Camdengirlfanfic (at) Please, no spam. Don't ruin it for everyone else. Thanks.

Oh, and a couple people have asked if a one-year-old could really talk as well as Riley Kinkirk does, and the answer is this: She's about one and a half, and at that point, some children are beginning to speak the way she does. Trust me, I should know, I spend 2 hours with one and two year olds every Sunday : - )

* * *

**Sunrise**

**Chapter Five: Surprises**

"Let's go!" Mia wined incessantly at her mother. "Momma, come on! Let's go, let's go!" Lucy looked down at her daughter, frustrated.

"Hold on! Mommy's trying to get your sister ready to go." She said. Riley sat on the table in front of her as she attempted to get the baby's shirt and shoes on. "Today was Charlie's 6th birthday, and they were having the cousin-celebration at the McDonalds down the street. The girls were chomping at the bit to go, and it seemed that Lucy just couldn't work fast enough.

Go tell Emily to get her play clothes on. She's been in her PJ's long enough." She told the 4-year-old. Mia skipped down the hall towards the room that she and her twin shared. Lucy carefully fastened the last snap on her daughter's sandals, then picked her up and placed her on the carpet in front of the TV. "Mommy will be right back. She's going to go check on your sisters." She said. As she started to walk away, Riley started to cry.

"No, no leave me!" She cried. Lucy sighed and picked her back up. She started down the hall, and when she turned into the twins' room, she shook her head. Mia was sitting on her bed with her arms folded looking angrily at her sister. Emily was dancing around the room wearing her shirt as pants, with her pants on her head, and socks on her feet.

"Emily please get dressed _correctly_, or mommy's going to call a baby sitter, and just Mia, Riley, Meg and I will go to the party." She said. She immediately took the pants off her head and looked at her mother with wide eyes. Quick as a flash, she put on her clothes how they were meant to be worn. "Thank you." Lucy said. She opened the door next to Mia and Emily's room to find Meg sitting on the floor coloring quietly. "Hey Meggy. Are you ready to go?" She asked. Meg nodded her head and put her coloring book away. "Will you get Emily please and make sure she comes straight to the car? I only have two arms, and one of them is already taken by Miss Riley here. Meg laughed.

"Ok. You get Mia, I'll get Emily." She said, saluting her mother and marching into the next room. Lucy laughed. "Come on, Emma, let's go. It's party time!" She heard her daughter say excitedly, and a moment later, Meg walked out of the room holding Emily's hand and pulling her towards the garage, while Emily looked back, confused, at her mother. Lucy laughed again and stuck her head into the twins' room.

"Come on Mia" She said. Mia jumped up and took her mothers hand, and they continued out to the car.

After arriving at McDonalds, the kids took off to go play in the play land, and the adults sat at a table to chat. An unhappy Meg had been assigned Riley duty and had to stay in the smaller ball pit to play for awhile. The adults talked for 10 minutes happily, before they heard a blood curdling scream come from the play area. Lucy, Mary, Carlos and Sarah all jumped up. The scream quickly turned into loud sobbing. Mia ran out of muli-colored tubes looking distressed and ran to her mother.

"Mom!" She cried breathlessly over the crying, "Emily got hurt! It's her ankle, she can't get up!" Lucy ran towards the playground and jumped into the tubes, following the crying. As the playground was made for children, Lucy had a somewhat hard time reaching her daughter, but when she got there, she put her hand on Emily's shoulder.

"Shh honey, it's OK. Mommy's here. She said, trying to calm her four-year-old. She reached out and pulled her daughter onto her lap. Carefully, she slid forward and went down the slide that Emily had been in front of. When they got to the bottom, they were met by Sarah, Trevor, Jared, Mary, Charlie, Meg, Mia and Riley. Emily's crying had subsided to a quiet whimper. Lucy picked the little girl up and carried her over to the table they had been sitting at. She looked at her daughter. "Can you tell me, calmly, what happened, please?" She asked. Emily nodded.

"We were having a race to see who got get to the slide and go down it first," she sniffled," and I was almost there, but Mia grabbed my ankle to slow me down and I fell and it hurts!" She began to cry loudly again. Lucy motioned for Sarah to come over.

"Honey, let Aunt Sarah take a look at it" She said. Sarah sat down in the chair next to them and carefully lifted her niece's leg onto her lap. After having Emily show her which ankle was hurting, she looked at it, carefully feeling it with her fingers. After a moment, she sat up straight and looked at Lucy,

"She's going to be fine." She said, and the group let out a collective sigh of relief. "It's just a little swollen, nothing terrible though. It's just twisted. She'll be as good as new in a few days." Mia walked up timidly to her mother and sister.

"Sorry Emmy." She said quietly. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's ok." Mia answered. She looked up at her mother. "Can I still go to school on Monday?"

"Yes." Lucy said with a laugh. "I've twisted my ankle tons of times. It'll be sore for a few days, but you're going to be just fine." She reassured her. She looked up at the adults. "I think that I better take the girls home. I want Emily to get some ice on her ankle, and to sit down for a bit. If we can help it to feel better faster, we'll certainly do it." She told them. "I'm sorry that we have to miss the rest of your party, Charlie. I know the girls were really looking forward to it."

"Luce, if you want, you can just take Emily, and the other three can stay here, and I could drive them home after the party is over." Sarah offered. Lucy looked around for her oldest and youngest daughters, realizing she hadn't seen them in awhile. Finally, she spotted them in the corner. Meg kneeled down, playing with a puzzle of Ronald McDonald while little Riley slept, still in the ball pit. Lucy laughed.

"Well, looks like Riley's had about enough, so I better take her, but it would be really great if you could take Meg and Mia home after this is over, if it's not too much to ask." Lucy said. Sarah smiled at her.

"It's not a problem at all. The party is over at 4:30, so I'll have them home at around 4:45 or so, all right?" Lucy nodded. She stood and walked over to where Riley was sleeping. With a laugh, she reached down and picked her up. The baby cracked one eye opened and glanced around for a moment before putting her head back down on her mother's shoulder and going back to sleep. Lucy looked at Meg.

"Honey, I need to take Emily and Riley home. After the party is over, Aunt Sarah is going to drive you and Mia home, OK?" Meg nodded. Lucy leaned down and kissed her daughter on the head. "Ok, sweetie. Be a good girl, and please keep an eye on Mia. I'll see you when you get home." She stood and walked back over to the table where Emily was still sitting, nursing her wounded ankle. "Come on, you. Let's get you home." She reached down and lifted Emily up with her free arm. "My, my, Miss Emma, you've gotten heavy!" She exclaimed. Emily laughed.

"Not as heavy as Meg!" Lucy nodded with a smile.

"That's true." She said. With that, she bid everyone goodbye, and took her daughters home.

* * *

David Camden smiled at his wife as she sat down across from him at the dinner table. Tonight he had made dinner, spaghetti. When she had gotten situated, they began to eat.

"So how was your day?" He asked her.

"Well, you know, same old, same old. Talked to some people, did their hair, the usual." She said with a laugh. "What an eventful life we hair dressers lead." As she laughed, David couldn't help but smile. Her joy seemed to be contagious. He leaned down and took another bite.

"Yeah, mine was pretty boring too. I worked on a column for a little while, and then spent the rest of the day trying to convince my boss that he runs the paper well. It was insane. He's having his midlife crisis over his newspaper." He laughed. After they finished eating, David grabbed the paper from that morning and went into the study to read. Anna cleaned up dinner quickly. She sat down on the sofa in their living room and pulled out the book that she had been reading. After opening it and staring at the pages for a few minutes, she put it back down, too preoccupied to be able to concentrate. She stood up and began to pace back and forth nervously. With a sigh, she walked to the door of the study.

Anna peered into the room and watched her husband as he read quietly. She started to take a step in, but then stopped and turned back. She cracked her knuckles nervously. After taking a deep breath, she cleared her throat.

"Um…David?" He looked up at her and smiled.

"Yeah?" She reached out and took his hand, leading him to the love seat next to his computer. "Anna, what's up? Are you okay?" He asked her nervously. Anna nodded and looked up at him.

"David…I have to talk to you." She said quietly. He looked at her waiting for her to continue. "Honey…I'm pregnant." David's eyes widened and he put his hand on his face. They had been planning to have children, but not for at least another year. They had only been married for one year as of a few months ago. Anna continued, breaking David away from his thoughts. "I took a test last week and it was positive, and then the next day, I went to see the doctor, and she confirmed it."

"Wait, so how long have you known?" He asked her. Anna closed her and thought for a moment.

"I saw the doctor on Sunday, and today is Saturday, so…"

"So 6 days." David said.

"Yeah…I guess so. David, I was going to tell you, but I didn't know if you would be mad, I mean, we weren't planning this at all. I'm as surprised as you are, trust me."

"I trust you." He reached out and took her into his arms. "Anna, it's true that this baby is, well, quite a surprise, but listen to me. It's not like it's your fault. You don't have to be afraid to tell me anything, ever, okay? I love you, and we're in this together. No matter what happens, I'm always here." He kissed her on the forehead. "When you saw the doctor and she confirmed this, what else did you guys find out?" he asked.

"Well," Anna began. "The baby's due on August 11th. Today is February 13th, so as of Thursday, I'm three months along." She said. She lifted up her shirt to reveal her stomach. "Feel this…there's just a tiny little bump, see?" she guided his hand over her stomach and he smiled.

"You're right." He said with a laugh. "That's amazing. A baby, _our_ baby, is right in there." He said. Anna smiled and stood up, taking her husband's hand and pulling him up with her. She leaned out and kissed him.

Since the day he had met her, he had believed that Anna was the most beautiful woman in the world, and yet every day, she seemed to be becoming even lovelier. Her green eyes sparkled as she grinned up at him. Her wavy brunette hair was sitting perfectly around her shoulders, but the thing that he found the most attractive about her this evening, was the look on her face as she held her hand over her stomach, and this, he realized, was the most beautiful she had ever been.

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_A/N_: Hey! I hope that you guys liked this! I made it a little longer for you since I haven't written in so long. Please review! 


	6. Far From Perfect

_Please see chapter one for disclaimer! I own The Big Baby Name book. I do NOT however, own What to Expect When You're Expecting._

_A/N:_ Thank you very much for the reviews! It is nice to have my mail box full of them again. I'm glad that you are all happy with the developments that have happened. Don't forget to review after you finish reading!

In the last chapter, I forgot to credit my friend Katie for the idea to have the kids go to McDonalds, so I added it in here. The idea concerning Ruthie in this chapter was from cnflute. Thanks!

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**Sunrise**

**Chapter Six: Far From Perfect**

One week later…

Ruthie Petrowski carefully saddled her horse, Stormy, and climbed on. She made a clicking noise and pushed her heels into the horse's sides. Stormy quickly came to a gallop and they started around the path at the park. She and Peter were going to go out to dinner tonight, and he would be by the stables to pick her up in about thirty minutes. He had dropped her off on his way to work this morning. They had arranged for a babysitter to come watch the kids tonight weeks ago, and she had been looking forward to it ever since. Today was their 7th wedding anniversary. As Ruthie felt the wind whipping through her hair she smiled. This was where she belonged. As the stable came back into view, a child from the park ran out into the middle of the path. When he saw Stormy running at him, the child panicked and began to scream loudly. Spooked, Stormy stopped abruptly. Ruthie wasn't ready for the sudden change, and gasped as she felt her body leaving the saddle.

Things seemed to go into slow motion as Ruthie flew through the air. When she finally struck the ground, a blinding pain filled her left arm. Her eyes filled with tears and her body seemed to be getting heavier by the second. Her ears began to ring and black spots filled her vision. Then, suddenly, everything around her went black.

* * *

David Camden walked up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She smiled and leaned back into him. 

"Are you feeling better?" He asked her. She nodded. For the majority or the morning, Anna had been going through the joys of morning sickness. She had felt its effects a few times before, but had always just thought that it was the flu. This morning, she called in sick to work, and this was the first time that she had been out into the rest of the house. "So, look what I got." He said, sitting down next to her on the sofa. He held up 'The Big Baby Name Book' in one hand, and 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' in the other. Anna smiled.

"Oh, David, thank you!" She cried.

"We should be able to find out if we're having a son or a daughter next month, or in April, so I thought it might be a good idea to look through the names and choose before hand." Anna nodded in agreement. She reached out and took the book, beginning to look through it. David scooted closer to her and she held out the book so that they could both see. Boys names were in the first half of the book, so they decided to look at them first. "I like Andrew, that's a nice name. Alexander, Caleb, Connor…what do you like?" He asked.

"Hmm…" She thought. "Well, I like all the ones you said, and Jordan, Keegan, Kade, Noah, Tyler…wow, there's so many!" She smiled and scanned the list silently. "Well, if we have a boy, his middle name would be David after his amazing father…" She laughed. "So, we need to find only the names that go with that name." They grew quiet as they thought. Suddenly, at the same time, they spoke.

"What about Connor?" They said in unison. They immediately broke into laughter. Anna leaned over and kissed her husband on the cheek. "I knew we were a good match." She said with a laugh. "So then a boy will be Connor David?" David nodded and smiled.

"Connor David." He flipped the book open to the second half where all the girls names were. "One down, one to go." He said with a laugh. "So, take a look at these. Only choose ones that go with Anna though." Anna shook her head.

"Nothing goes with Anna. Ann, yes, but Anna? Not much." She laughed. "Let's see here…I like Amanda, Abby…oh look at this one." She pointed. "Avery. That's pretty." David agreed. "and Audrey is nice. Wow, a lot of 'A' names! Let's see what else….Sophie is adorable…and Hailey is nice. Oh! Bella, that's so cute!"

"Those are all beautiful. I like Cadence a lot…and Jocelyn is beautiful, Sydney, Gabriella, Bailey, Lily, Michelle…" He smiled. "Wow, I really love them all."

"The names you said are beautiful too! Oh Davey, how are we going to choose?" She asked.

"Well…let's just look through and think of the ones that we like together, Ok? Avery Sophia's really cute, Jocelyn Cadence or Jocelyn Sophia…they're all beautiful.

"Those are so great." Anna said quietly. She shut her eyes and began to think. "Ya know, I think that I chose my favorite. What's yours?"

"Well you have to tell me yours first!" David said with a laugh. Anna shook her head mischievously. "Fine." David said. Well…I think I like Avery Sophia best."

"Me too." She said, happily leaning forward to again kiss her husband. "I love it! So now," She placed her hands over her stomach, "We know that right underneath my hands is either Connor or Avery…our baby…" David smiled at her.

* * *

"Yeah." He said quietly, and placed his hands on top of hers. "Connor or Avery." 

Ruthie cracked one eye open and looked around, recognizing nothing. Her head was pounding and the feeling in her left wrist was one she wasn't accustomed to. Someone spoke next to her and she turned her head, to see her husband.

"Peter? Where am I?" she asked. Peter smiled at her.

"You're awake. Well, this is Saint Jude's hospital. I came to pick you up but when I got there I saw you laying on the ground, so I called 9-1-1. The doctor says that your wrist is broken, but other than that, you seem to be ok." Ruthie looked down to see her wrist in a temporary cast. "You've been in and out of consciousness for about 30 minutes, since I found you."

"But…I don't remember anything after that boy ran out in front of Stormy…I don't think I was ever awake baby."

"You were, but only for a few seconds on and off. From what the doctor can tell so far, you passed out because of the pain. How do you feel?"

"Well…apart from being totally confused…my head hurts like mad, and my wrist is throbbing." Suddenly she gasped. "What time is it?! Are the kids OK?" Peter smiled and laughed.

"The kids are fine. I called the babysitter and told her what's going on. She said she can stay until 11. It's only 6:15. Don't worry, everything's fine." He said, "The doctor didn't want to give you full pain meds until he could check you out while you're conscious, so that's why your wrist isn't feeling the greatest. Here, push this." He leaned out and pushed the red button to call the nurse. She entered the room moments later.

"Oh, you're awake! Welcome back, Mrs. Petrowski." She laughed. "I'll go get Dr. Manning." She said, and left the room. A few minutes later, a tall dark haired man entered the room and approached Ruthie.

"Well, Mrs. Petrowski, nice to see you awake. How are you feeling?" He asked.

"My head hurts quite a bit, and my wrist is throbbing, it's just really uncomfortable."

"I'd imagine so." He answered. "It seems that you took quite a fall. We've done some X-Rays, and found out that your wrist is definitely broken, but when we checked out your head, we found nothing wrong, which is fortunate. Hitting your head on the ground like that could have really caused some damage. I'm assuming that you'd like some more pain medication?" He asked. Ruthie smiled at him.

"Definitely." He nodded and put on his stethoscope.

"Ok, why don't we check and see how you're doing." He checked her pulse and vitals. "Well, I'm gong to order an IV for you with some pain meds, and after a few hours, we'll get you into a more permanent cast." Ruthie nodded and he left the room. She looked over at Peter and smiled.

"So, I guess this isn't the night we planned for, huh?" She asked. They laughed.

"Not quite, but that's OK. I'm just glad that you're safe. It doesn't matter where we are for our 7th anniversary, it just matters that we're together. Who sees the difference from a restaurant to a hospital? You and I are both here, and that's all the counts."

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_A/N_: I hope you liked this! Please review! 


	7. An Afternoon Visit

_Please see chapter one for disclaimer!_

_A/N:_ Hey! As usual, thanks for all the great reviews! I always love to get them. Hope you like the next chapter! Can you believe we're already on chapter 7? : - )

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**Sunrise**

**Chapter 7: An Afternoon Visit**

Matt Camden walked through the halls of Glen Oak hospital towards his office. It was his lunch break, and he was grateful for it. Today, he had been exceptionally busy. This morning alone, he had delivered 4 babies (including a set of twins), given 5 check ups and been called in to supervise one emergency C-Section. He turned the corner and entered his office. To his surprise, Sarah sat on his desk with a basket in her hands.

"Hey you" She greeted him. He smiled and put down his things. She got up and walked over to him, putting her arms up around his neck. "Are you surprised?" She kissed him.

"Yes, I'm surprised! What are you doing here?" He asked her with a laugh. Rarely did his wife ever visit him at work. She was a pediatrician at the doctor's office across the street, but they were both so busy, that seeing each other was not a regular occurrence.

"Well, my 11 o'clock cancelled, and it's been really slow today, so no one else took the appointment. Which means…," She paused for effect. "_I_ have _two_ hours for lunch today, and _that_ means…, "She paused again, "I can come visit you." Matt leaned down and kissed his wife. He stopped, however, when someone cleared their throat. Matt pushed his wife back immediately. He was less than pleased to see his boss, the maternity ward coordinator, standing in his door, eyebrow raised.

"Mr. Kile! Hey!" He stuttered nervously. "What can I do for you?" The middle aged man rolled his eyes.

"Hello Matt," He shifted his eyes to Matt's wife, "And hello, Sarah, nice to see you." Sarah blushed. "Mr. Camden, we've been trying to reach you for the last 10 minutes about one of your patients…is there a reason you're not answering your phone?" Matt frowned.

"Well, sir, I never heard it ring…" He turned and looked at his desk. To his dismay, he saw that the phone was off the hook, dangling off the side of the desk. "Oh, Sarah, you must have knocked it off the receiver when you were up there." He said, sounding slightly irritated. Mr. Kile again raised his eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" He asked, looking at the two of them unapprovingly. Suddenly, Matt gasped.

"No! No! Mr. Kile, it's not like that! Sarah was just sitting on my desk when I came in to surprise me, that's all." His boss eyed him suspiciously for a moment, then laughed.

"All right. Any way, you patient, an Alyssa Jacobs, has been calling she needs some advice. It would be wonderful if you could take a moment to call her. Jennifer at the main Maternity desk has the number for you. "He said and turned to leave. "Oh," He turned back for a moment. "And please, behave yourselves, you too." He added sarcastically, then left. As soon as he shut the door, Sarah burst out laughing. She buried her face in her husband's chest. He laughed too.

"Hold on, I have to call Alyssa back, she's 8 months pregnant. I don't want to leave her hanging." He laughed. Sarah's eyes widened and she pushed her husband towards the phone.

"Yes, call her now. When you're that far along, you want your questions answered NOW and not a moment later. I remember." They laughed and Matt reached for the phone. After answering Alyssa's question, he turned back to his wife. She smiled and ran over to the desk where the basket she had was still sitting. She held it up with a smile.

"I brought us lunch. Let's eat in the park." She suggested. There was a park next to the hospital for young patients, or the children of older patients to play in. There was a playground, and grass out in every direction that seemed to go for a mile. Matt agreed and they started for the door. Once they got to the park, they chose a tree to sit under and Sarah spread out their picnic blanket. She opened the basket and pulled out two roast beef sandwiches and a bag of chips. Matt reached in and got a bag of grapes out. They began to eat happily, enjoying each other's company, and rarity of a week day meal just the two of them.

* * *

Anna reached for David's hand as she sat on the small table at her OB/GYN's office. As of two weeks ago, she was 4 months pregnant, and it was time for her check up. Dr. Stevens entered the room and smiled at the couple. She picked up her clip bored and pen.

"Hi, Mrs. Camden, how have you been feeling lately? Any morning sickness, soreness, etcetera?" She asked.

"Well, I've been having a little bit of morning sickness, you know, sort of on and off. And my ankles have been hurting a bit. My stomach just feels odd, I mean look at this." She pulled her shirt tight and her quickly growing stomach was put in display. She was definitely beginning to get round, and wasn't used to so much change. The doctor laughed.

"Now, you're about four and a half months along, so you've made it half way. Congratulations." She smiled. "Now, why don't you lie down, and we'll check out how you're doing?" She said cheerfully. Anna eased herself down and pulled up her shirt. Dr. Stevens walked over and placed her hand on her patient's stomach, pushing in various places. She preformed the rest of the check up, the turned to the Sarah. "OK, hun, everything's feeling fine. Why don't we do an ultra-sound so we can see this little one." She brought in the machine and spread an the usual freezing gel over Anna's bare skin. An image began to come up on the screen and the sound of a heart beat filled the small office. Dr. Stevens rolled her chair up to the screen and studied it carefully.

"Well, how's the baby?" David asked finally.

"Little Connor or Avery." Anna said with a smile. The doctor remained quiet for a few more moments before turning to the couple.

"The baby seems to be doing well. Would you like to know the sex of your baby?" She asked. David and Anna looked at one other, then answered "yes" in unison. Dr. Stevens smiled at them.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Camden, come August 11th, you'll be having a baby boy!" She announced. Before they could even express their joy, the doctor continued. "And also a baby girl." They frowned at her.

"What?" Anna asked in confusion, "Which is it?" Dr. Stevens laughed.

"Both. Congratulations, Anna, David, you're expecting twins." Anna's jaw dropped, as did her husband's.

"Twins?" David cried, and looked at his wife. "Anna, honey, we're having two!" Anna stared at the screen in disbelief.

"Connor _and _Avery?" Anna asked, starting to smile. "That's awesome!" David ran over to her and leaned down to kiss her. The doctor gave them a moment before continuing to speak.

"As soon as I saw you today, I began to wonder. Normally, women don't get as big as you are at four months. I'm glad that you two are happy. Now, Mrs. Camden, in the next few months, you'll be experiencing even a bit more than most women do with one baby. You will likely be very hungry, so don't forget to eat big meals, and carry some snacks with you. You're eating for three now. Secondly, women with multiples tend to experience more morning sickness up to their delivery then women carrying one child do. Now, that's not to say that you will, but just keep the possibility in mind. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me. Pregnancy can be a scary thing if you don't know what's going on. Don't hesitate to get in touch. They finished up the appointment, then walked out of the office hand in hand. As soon as they got outside, David stopped his wife to kiss her again. She laughed. As they walked towards their car, they began to talk about what lay ahead of them.

"Can you believe this?" David asked. "Twins obviously run in the family. First my mom had Sam and I, then Lucy had Mia and Emily, now it's our turn. And now we have all the different combinations in the family…twin boys, twin girls, and now one of each!" Anna laughed as they climbed into the car. They continued chatting excitedly all the way home, a family of four.

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_A/N_: Sorry that this is a bit shorter than usual guys! There will be a new chapter up soon! : - ) please review! 


	8. Second Thoughts

_See chapter one for disclaimer. I also don't own chuck e. cheese or Asprin._

_A/N:_ Hey! Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad that you found humor in the last chapter as I did. As usual, please review when you're done!

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**Sunrise**

**Chapter 8: Second Thoughts**

Anna Camden sighed sadly as she walked out of the salon that she styled hair at. Because of her pregnancy, she had to quit. The chemicals used in there could harm the babies, and that was something she wasn't going to risk. She brushed back a tear as she climbed into her car. All of her friends worked there. Her job had become her life and she loved it. Now that she and David had babies on the way, everything was changing all too quickly. This was why they weren't trying yet…they weren't ready to be parents. Especially not to twins! Anna turned the key and the car started up. She backed up and pulled out of the parking lot.

Lucy Kinkirk glanced at the clock when she heard her doorbell ring. 11:03. Who could be at the door? She picked up Riley and walked to the door. When she opened it, she saw her sister-in-law, Anna, standing out side the door with a tear-streaked face. Lucy frowned, worried, and reached out to embrace her.

"Anna! What's going on? Come in." She stepped aside so Anna could enter. "It's Riley's nap time…I'll go put her down, and then we can talk, all right?" Anna nodded and Lucy started down the hall. She kissed her baby on the forehead and put her in her crib. After crying for a few minutes, Riley curled up on her side, holding her Blankie, and shut her eyes. Lucy walked out into the entry way and took Anna by the hand, leading her to the sofa in their living room. After they sat down, Lucy looked at her sister-in-law, concerned. "What's wrong?" She asked. Anna sighed deeply.

"Lucy, I can't do this." She said.

"Can't do what?" She asked.

"This." Anna held her stomach. "Dave and I weren't trying for kids, and that was for a reason! We're not ready for this! I don't want everything to change!" She cried. "How do you do it? I mean, you're this amazing mother with four perfect daughters, you always seem so calm and collected, you're super mom!" Lucy had to laugh.

"Me? Super mom? Think again." She said. "I'm definitely not perfect. Taking care of four kids is a major challenge, and I'm not always great at it. I lose my temper with my kids like anyone else does. Some days, I just have to focus on making it through. And my daughters aren't perfect." She laughed again. "_Trust me._ Now, Anna, I know that you and David weren't exactly planning on a baby, but you _can _do this.When I was first pregnant with Meg, I went through the same thing that you're going through. I just really started freaking out, because like you and David, Kev and I definitely weren't trying for kids yet. And then I went through the same thing again when I was pregnant with Mia and Emily because they were twins. The only pregnancy I've been sane through was with Riley, since I was finally used to it. Every woman goes through this, Anna, it's going to be OK." She reached out and hugged her. "Now, didn't you have a doctor appointment a few days ago? Did you find out if you're having a boy or a girl?" Anna smiled and nodded. "Well?" She laughed.

"Actually, Lucy…" She paused. "We're following in Annie and yours tradition. We're having twins." Lucy's jaw dropped and she hugged her again.

"Man! Your first are twins! You have a double case of panic then!" She smiled at her apologetically. "Are they girls or boys?"

"One of each." Anna answered. "The boy's name is Connor David, and the girl's is Avery Sophia."

"Oh my goodness! Those names are so adorable." Lucy told her. "I can't believe that you're having twins!"

"Yeah, we can't either. Luce…what is it like?"

"Well, I'm not going to lie to you. Having one new born is hard enough, and having _two _is exhausting. But you know what? They're also twice as fun. You get to experience two first words, two sets of first steps, two first teeth…and they will always have someone to play with." She reached out and took Anna's hands in her own. "Don't worry. David will be there for you, and so will I, and Kevin, and of course Annie and Eric. We know what it's like to have twins, and would be more than happy to help you. You can do this." She reassured her. Anna smiled.

"Thanks Luce. Really. I appreciate this."

"It's no problem. When are the babies due?" Lucy asked.

"August 11th." She answered. Lucy's eyes widened.

"Wow! Four months from tomorrow!" She exclaimed.

"Really?" Anna asked. "Wow, I hadn't thought of that. Is it already April 10th?" She asked. Lucy nodded. "Well, I guess time flies when you're…carrying twins…" They laughed. Their conversation was interrupted when they heard Riley crying loudly. They stood up. "I'll let you go." Anna told her. "Looks like you're needed. Thanks for calming me down, Lucy. You're awesome." Lucy smiled at her sister-in-law and hugged her again.

"Any time. If you have any more questions or need anything, you can call me. I don't care if it's three in the morning. And of course you're always welcome here." They smiled at each other, and Anna left as Lucy started down the hall to get Riley. She glanced at the clock. Riley had only been down for thirty minutes. She reached into the crib and picked up the baby. She carried her over to the rocking chair and sat down. She began to rock slowly back and forth, talking quietly to Riley. "Go back to sleep, little one." She said sweetly, and slowly, the baby drifted back off to dream land.

* * *

Sarah Camden smiled at Mary as she rounded the corner at Chuck E. Cheese's. Mary had called to see if Sarah would like to meet she and Charlie up there to play. As soon as they got through the entrance, Trevor and Jared took of into the climbing tubes with Charlie. Sarah laughed and walked over to the table where Mary was seated. They greeted each other as Sarah sat down.

"So, did Anna and David tell you the god news?" Mary asked with a smile. Sarah frowned, confused.

"Well, they told us they're pregnant…is there something else going on?" She asked. Mary smiled and nodded.

"They had a doctor appointment a few days ago, and they found out they're having _twins_! A girl and a boy."

"Oh my gosh!" Sarah cried. "That's so awesome! I bet they're excited. I remember when Lucy and Kevin had their girls. It was so much fun."

"Yeah, they're nervous, but excited. Have you seen Anna lately? She's five months along, today, but she's about as big as I was at like late 6 months, or even early 7. I remember that Lucy was pretty big too with Mia and Emily, but I don't think she was quite this big. Just imagine what she'll look like when she's in her 9th month!" The women laughed.

"She'll have a watermelon of a stomach!" Sarah said with a smile. "That's sweet. I bet those babies will be absolutely beautiful. They have gorgeous parents. Mary agreed. They called their children over when the pizza arrived, and they all dug into their lunch.

* * *

Ruthie Petrowski tried with slow success to lift her four year old daughter Allison up using only one arm. She had been trying to learn to function with out her left arm since the accident. With a cast on, it was hard to do a lot of things that she would have normally taken for granted. Her cast would be coming of next week, and she was definitely looking forward to it. It was hard enough to take care of a four and five year old with two hands, let alone one. Plus, since the accident, she had been forced to put horse riding lessons on a hold, which meant that they had a single income. They had to make a few changes, but things were still working out. Regardless, Ruthie was looking forward to getting back to normal life. Finally, after three minutes of trying, she hoisted Allison onto her hip.

"You're getting heavy!" She said with a laugh. The child smiled triumphantly and nodded. Ruthie carried her over to the table where her brother was already sitting, eating his dinner. As Ruthie began to try and sit her down, she began to scream loudly.

"No mamma! I won't sit alone! I wanna sit on your lap!" Ruthie rolled her eyes.

"Not tonight Allie." She told her. "Mommy needs to make herself dinner. You need to be a big girl and eat by yourself." She again tried to put her daughter down, but was met with bloody murder shrieks. She continued to lower her to the ground and Allison began a complete temper tantrum. She began to kick and scream, refusing to let her feet touch the ground. "Allison Jennifer Petrowski! Put your feet down right now!" She cried sternly. The girl continued to fight. Just then, Peter walked in the door. He saw what was going on in the kitchen and started over towards his struggling wife and daughter. He grabbed Allison's arms and pulled her off of Ruthie, then sat her down on the ground. She continued in her tantrum, but Peter looked at her very sternly.

"Allison Jennifer Petrowski!" He said angrily. "You stop this right now."

"No!" Allison shrieked and bit her father's hand. Peter raised his eye brows.

"That's enough, young lady." He picked her up and carried her into her room. He put her down on her bed and gripped her shoulders tightly. "I said that's enough. Cut it out." Allison folded her arms angrily across her chest and frowned at Peter, finally stopping her screaming. Peter shook his head. "Mom and I will _not_ put up with you acting like that. Do you understand me?" She didn't budge. "All right then. I guess you need a time out. You will sit here on your bed while Mommy, Cameron and I eat our dinners. You're only allowed to come out when mommy or I come and get you, and _then_ you will get your dinner." He stood up and as he walked through the door, she started her fit again.

"I want dinner _now!_" She screamed.

"We'll come and get you when we're done eating." He told her and shut her door behind him. As he walked back into the kitchen, he could hear her continuing to scream. Ruthie stood next to the table rubbing her arm around her cast. "Are you all right?" Peter asked worriedly. Ruthie nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Allie just pulled on my wrist kind of hard, now it's hurting." Peter walked over to the medicine cabinet and got his wife some Asprin, which she took gratefully. With that, they sat down and ate as a family of three, noticing that Allison had thankfully quieted down.

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_A/N:_ Hey! I hope that you like this! I wrote it all in one shot, which is pretty rare for me. Don't forget to review, please! 


	9. Making It Through the Day

_For disclaimer see chapter one. Thanks. I believe that I own Maisy's Market, Chez Milan and "Double Trouble: Pregnancy With Twins", if not, please correct me._

_A/N_: Thanks, as usual, for reviewing!! I'm definitely enjoying writing this story, and that is in a big way because of all of your reviews. Also like usual, I hope that you enjoy this chapter (9 already!) and please review!

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**Sunrise**

**Chapter 9: Making it Though The Day**

Lucy Kinkirk sighed deeply as she pushed her shopping cart through the isles of Maisy's Market. As usual, things were chaotic. Riley sat in the front seat while Mia, Emily, and Meg walked along side. Under the mothers' orders, the twins were each holding the side of the cart, but this didn't keep them from causing trouble. The girls danced, squealed, and giggled their way down the isle, while even Meg joined it. Riley sat in her seat squealing along with them and clapping her hands. Lucy shushed them as she tried to concentrate on her shopping list, but it didn't seem to help their noise level one bit. She reached into one of the freezers and got two frozen pizzas, which always seemed to work out well for dinners, and to the girls' dismay, also got some peas. She turned down the pharmaceutical isle and began to search the shelves for the last item on her shopping list. Finally, she spotted the cough syrup, and grabbed some. With a family of 6, some one always seemed to have a cough. They checked out, and as they walked out the door into the parking lot, they passed Mary and Charlie. They said a quick hello, then the two families continued on their way. When Lucy and the kids arrived home, Kevin greeted them as they came through the garage door. He walked around to the back of the car to help Lucy carry in the groceries while the girls (with Mia holding Riley's hand to help her walk) took off to go play. After the trunk of the car was empty, they shut the garage door and sat down at the kitchen table.

"What do you want for dinner?" Lucy asked her husband, exhausted after her busy day. Kevin smiled at her and stood up, walking over to the stove where a pot was full of cooking spaghetti noodles. "Kev!" Lucy said, surprised. "You didn't have to do this." Kevin walked over and kissed his wife.

"Yes I did. You've been so busy with the girls all day, I wanted to do something to help out. And you know, I'll still be helping out like this if we have more kids…" Lucy's jaw dropped.

"You're starting in with _that_ again?" Kevin's eyes widened a bit, wishing he hadn't just said that. "Hey, listen. If _you_ we going to be the one carrying the baby for the next nine months, not to mention giving birth to it, then maybe we could discuss it, but Kev, pregnancy is so hard on our bodies! Riley's only one, and I'm finally back down to my pre-Riles weight. And before I was pregnant with her I was almost done losing my twins weight, and before_ that, _I was still carrying quite a bit of Meg weight! I'm happy to finally not be sticking out to here!" She held her hand out far in front of her stomach. "Maybe in a year or two, I mean, It's not that I'm totally opposed to having more kids, it's just that right now, I'm not too sure."

"OK. Sorry that I keep pushing you about it Luce, really. It's just, I grew up in a small family, but you grew up with 6 brothers and sisters! And now, we get to have this huge family with Matt's kids, and Mary's kids, Ruthie's, soon David's. I want our kids to be able to experience the same thing." Lucy nodded.

"So do I. But I'm not ready to start trying yet, Ok? You just need to trust me that when I'm ready, I'll tell you, and _then_ we can start trying for baby number five." Kevin smiled at her.

"Ok. I trust you. I Love you, Luce, and I want to have more kids with you, but I'm willing to wait." She thanked him and they kissed. 15 minutes later, dinner was ready and they called the girls in for dinner. They sat down and began to eat, and as they did, Lucy looked around the table, perfectly content with her current family of six.

* * *

Anna sighed as she sat on the table at Dr. Stevens' office, waiting for the doctor to come in. Today was her 6 month appointment, and she was attending it alone. David was at a column writing conference all the way in Minnesota, and Anna was not happy about having to brave her pregnancy alone for an entire week. Suddenly, her face paled and she jumped off the table, diving for the trash can in the corner of the room. She made it just as her morning sickness took over. Dr. Stevens walked into the room and gave Anna an apologetic look as the first time mother's entire breakfast and lunch reappeared. Finally, Anna stood and walked back over to the table. Quietly, she gave the doctor a small smile.

"Sorry about that." She apologized. The doctor shook her head and reassured her that it was nothing new to her. Anna sighed sadly. "All the pregnancy books that I've read said that for most women, morning sickness only lasts for the first trimester. Dr. Stevens, I'm entering my _third_ trimester in a week and a half, and I'm still having trouble keeping down my meals."

"Well, like you said, _most_ women only experience it for their first trimester. However, some women have it all the way up to the day they give birth. Plus, I'm sorry to inform you, ladies pregnant with multiples pretty commonly suffer from morning sickness that long. Anna's jaw dropped slightly in disappointment. The doctor opened up her patients file and looked it over. "Yes, look at that, you're right! You're already almost to your 7th month with these two! How are you feeling?" She asked as she slipped a measuring tape around the mom to be's large stomach to see how much it had grown over the last month.

"I feel so terrible. My whole body hurts, I can't stop throwing up, and I mean, just look at me!" She cried. "I look like I'm due any day. I still have two months left of this terror! Just imagine how big I'm going to be when I'm nine months into this. My stomach is in the way of everything! I've been having trouble sleeping too. As soon as I lie down, the twins seem to think that it's soccer time!" Dr. Stevens laughed.

"Yeah, I have to admit that your stomach is on the larger side, even for women carrying twins. In the last month, you've gained 4 inches!" Anna moaned. "You're not alone in being uncomfortable. Many women pregnant with twins or more get very sore as they near their due dates. Now, I know that you don't want to hear this, but as your doctor I feel that you need to know: Twin pregnancies are more complicated and higher-risk than single pregnancies. Wait gain almost doubles compared to that of a woman carrying one child. You need more calcium, folic acid, and more exercise. There's a higher rate of complications: morning sickness, placental bleeding, hypertension, diabetes, pre-term labor, etcetera. In addition, on average, twins are born at 36 ½ weeks instead of 40 to 41 weeks for singletons. Now, I don't want this to worry you, since every pregnancy is different, but I want you to be aware of the possibilities. Why don't you lie down and we'll start your exam. After performing the main part, Dr. Stevens spread the cool goo over Anna's stomach and started the ultrasound machine. "When you're only pregnant with one baby, you can have ultrasounds less frequently, but with twins, it's important to have them every month." She explained. She moved the probe slowly over Anna's stomach and carefully looked at the images that were on the screen. She pointed at the moving black and white figures. "Here's the boy, I think you said that his name is Connor. He seems to be growing a bit better than the girl, Avery is. We'll need to keep an eye on that. Other than that, he looks good, healthy." She moved the probe over. "Here's Avery" she told her. "She's looking good too, other than being small, like we already mentioned. I'm concerned about this because it's some what common for pregnancies with multiples for one of the babies to be stealing more of the nutrients that he or she needs, and leaving the other baby with too little. Now, that's not definitely what is happening, but to be safe, we're going to be monitoring this. Please call me if you have any questions. I want to have you back in three weeks rather than four to check this out, all right?" Anna agreed and they finished up their appointment.

As Anna climbed into her gar, she moaned angrily. Her stomach barely fit behind the steering wheel. She knew that she shouldn't be driving this far into her pregnancy, but today she didn't really have a choice. She didn't want to inconvience any of her siblings in law by asking them to drive her places. This week, she figured, she'd just have to not leave the house much. Once David got back home, it would be a lot easier. She sighed as she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. This would be a long week.

* * *

Sarah Camden smiled as she walked in the door of the home that she shared with her husband and children. The lights were dimmed. She looked around, confused at what was going on. As she put down her things, Matt came around the corner in a tux, holding a rose. She smiled and walked over to him. After they kissed, she looked up at him.

"What's the occasion? Where are the kids?" She aked.

"Well, I thought that it might be nice to return the favor from your surprise at the hospital the other day." He told her with a smile. "Go put on a dress. We have reservations at Chez Milan in 20 minutes. And don't worry about the boys. They're staying with my mom and dad for the night." Sarah smiled up at her husband for a moment before running into their room and changing quickly into her knee length, crimson cocktail dress. She touched up he makeup as quickly as possible, then came back out to meet her husband. He handed her the rose he had been holding and took her hand. "Ready to go?" He asked. Sarah smiled and nodded. Matt lead her out to his car, where he opened her door for her. After she was seated, he came around and got into the drivers side.

When they arrived at the restaurant 10 minutes later, the valet took their car and they walked inside. Matt told the hostess that they had a reservation under Camden, and she led them into the dining area. To Sarah's delight, they were taken to her favorite table, which was on the edge of the dance floor. The band on the stage played a slow jazz tune as the couples on the floor swayed slowly back and forth to the beat. Sarah and Matt sat down and the hostess left. They picked up their menus and chose what they would have for dinner while they chatted. When their server came, they ordered, and to Sarah's surprise, they were given a bottle of her favorite wine. Matt smiled at his wife as he poured her the first class, then did so for himself. They toasted as the server left.

"To us." Matt said, and Sarah repeated it with a smile. Their glasses clinked and they took a sip. Matt stood up and reached out to Sarah. "Would you like to dance?" He asked. Sarah grinned and took her husband's hand. He led her to the middle of the dance floor then put his arms around her lower back, holding her close as they slowly swayed in time with the jazz band's music. Sarah rested her head on her husband's chest. They stayed there dancing happily until their dinners arrived. They sat back down at their table and started to eat. After they finished, they danced for a few minutes more, than started home. When they got there, they walked inside, and Sarah saw a gift sitting on their sofa. Matt smiled at her as she walked over to it and read the card. Slowly, she pulled off the top of the box, and as she did, she gasped. Inside was a beautiful diamond necklace. Matt came over and helped her fasten it around her neck.

"What's all this for?" She asked him for the second time that evening.

"Well, we were so busy for our anniversary this year that we didn't get to do much. This was to make up for that. And I got you the necklace as a sort of belated Valentines Day gift. Do you like it?" He asked.

"Do I like it? Matt, it's amazing!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Thank you."

"One more surprise." He said. Sarah laughed as he took her hand and lead her into the kitchen, where there was a chocolate cake sitting on the kitchen table. Scrawled across it in messy letters was "Sarah and Matt, February 14". Sarah smiled and admired it. "Sorry that its kind of messy. I figured that you'd rather have a cake made by me than by some bakery for our anniversary celebration." He said. Sarah laughed and agreed.

"It's perfect Matt. Thank you…for everything." She said. Matt smiled at her and cut each of them a piece of the home made cake. He lit a candle in the middle of the table and the couple sat down and enjoyed their belated anniversary together.

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_A/N_: Hope that you liked this! Please review, and look for chapter ten soon! 


	10. Holding Their Breath

_Please see chapter one for disclaimer. I don't own Gymboree or any restaurant or store mentioned in the chapter._

_A/N:_ Hi everyone! Thanks for the reviews! Can you believe that we're already up to double digits! Hope you enjoy chapter 10.

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**Sunrise**

**Chapter 10: Holding Their Breath**

Anna Camden walked through the mall with Sarah, her hand over her stomach. They had decided to go shopping for some baby clothes, and she was glad. She was already at seven and a half months, and didn't have any clothes, cribs, a rocking chair, or any baby supplies at all. They walked into Gymboree and Anna rushed over to the rack of little pink dresses. She smiled and picked one up, holding it over her rather large stomach.

"Aww look! Avery looks so cute in this!" She exclaimed. Sarah began to laugh. She reached out and picked up a soft blue overall set, and placed it on Anna's stomach as well. Anna laughed as well. "And look at Connor! He looks absolutely adorable!" The women both burst into laughter. "Well, I've got to get these. The babies are already attached to them." Sarah smiled at her and they continued looking around. After choosing 3 more girls outfits and 2 more boys, they checked out, and started out into the main part of the mall once more. Anna turned to her sister in law. "Sarah," she began, "I know it's only 11, but we have to go eat. I'm starving. This eating for three thing just doesn't agree with me." Sarah laughed.

"Yeah, I remember when I was pregnant. I was hungry all the time. I can't even imagine being pregnant with _two_ babies! When Lucy was carrying Mia and Emily, I remember we were all out to dinner and she ordered two meals and finished them both, _then_ still had room for dessert! We couldn't believe it." Anna laughed.

"Yep, that's about what I feel like. It's so strange." She said. Sarah smiled at her. They rounded the corner of the food court. Anna placed her finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm…what am I craving today?" She asked with a laugh. "I'm thinking Panda Express." Sarah agreed and the women started for the line. After they got their food, they found a table and began to eat. Only a few minutes after they started, Anna's plate was half gone. Sarah began to laugh. She stood up and walked over to Anna, leaning down to talk with her stomach.

"Ave! Connor! Calm down! You'll get the food. No need to rush!" Anna laughed and placed her hand subconsciously over her round stomach. Within the next 5 minutes, Anna finished her plate, and continued waiting for Sarah to end. After 10 more minutes, Sarah finally finished eating, and they started towards Robinsons May. Anna and Sarah walked towards the maternity section. Anna walked over and picked up a light pink top, holding it up to herself. She continued to hold it, then continued shopping. After she chose one pair of sweat pants and 4 more tops, she started for the dressing rooms. Sarah stood outside while Anna began to try on her choices. She opened the door a moment later in her dark grey sweat pants and the pink top. She spun around, modeling. As Sarah told her that she liked the outfit, Anna frowned slightly and put her hand on her stomach. "Are you all right?" Sarah asked. Anna nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. One of the babies just did something funky that's all. They've been doing it for like 10 minutes, it's odd." Sarah laughed.

"When I was pregnant with Jared, he loved to jump all around in there. It takes a little while to get used to." Anna nodded and started back into the dressing room. She emerged next in a green top with the pants still on. Sarah agreed that she liked that one as well, and Anna shut the door again. As Sarah waited for her sister-in-law to come out and model the next top, she heard Anna cry out from inside the dressing room.

"Sarah!" She called frantically. "Something's not right." Sarah tried to open the door but it was locked.

"Unlock the door!" She did so, and Sarah hurried into the small room. She found Anna on the floor, holding her stomach. "What happened?" She asked.

"I don't know, I was just standing here and all the sudden, my stomach started to hur…ow!" She held her stomach. Sarah leaned down and helped her up.

"We're going to the hospital." She told her. She helped her change back into the clothes she had come in, and they hurried out of the store. As they drove, Anna continued to hold her stomach. Sarah used her cell phone to call David, who said he would meet them at the hospital. After 15 more long minutes, they pulled into Glen Oak Hospital. Sarah helped Anna inside, where they got her a wheel chair and let the staff know what was going on. As Anna was being wheeled into the maternity section, they passed Matt, who spun around, looking confused.

"Sarah?" He asked. "What's going on?"

"Well," Sarah explained in a hurry, "It's my day off, so I was taking Anna shopping at the mall for baby supplies, but something's wrong. Oh Matt, what's going to happen?" She asked, afraid. Matt put his arms around his wife.

"Everything's going to be alright. I'm coming with you we'll figure out what's going on." They turned and followed the nurse and Anna. When they got into the hospital room, a doctor immediately began an exam while a nurse hooked her up to a fetal monitor. Sarah held Anna's hand, trying to reassure her.

"Where's David?" She asked, sounding afraid. "I need him here! What's going on?" Matt looked at her with compassion.

"Anna, David's on his way, but he's not here yet. Don't worry, everything's going to be all right. You're in good hands here." Anna tired to smile at him, but it didn't work. After 10 more minutes of chaos, David arrived. He hurried into the room and ran to Anna, taking her hand is his. He looked at Matt.

"What's going on?" He asked him. "What's wrong with Anna? Are the twins OK?" Matt talked with the other doctor for a few minutes, and looked at the fetal monitor. Matt came back over and looked at David and Anna.

"OK you guys, here's the thing. Anna is in premature labor. We need to get you on some medicine fast to stop the contractions. You're only 7 and a half months into this, and the babies aren't ready to be born. We need to do everything we can do to stop it." Anna yelled out and grabbed her stomach.

"Make it stop!" She cried. "Matt, they're getting worse!" He nodded.

"I know, Anna. Just hang in there. This nurse is going to get you going on an IV right away." He explained. A short, brunette woman came up next to Anna and took her arm, carefully placing an IV in. Anna winced as the needle came though her skin, and still placed her free hand on her stomach. She looked up at David who kissed her forehead. The doctor stood up.

"Well, it's just going to take time now to stop the contractions. After that, we'll do an ultra sound to check if the babies are all right. You try and get some rest. We'll be back in about a half hour, all right?" Anna nodded and the doctor and nurse that put in her IV left. Sarah smiled sadly down at her sister in law.

"So much for our shopping trip." She said. Anna laughed weakly and nodded. Matt came over and put his arms around his wife, who stood, looking at Anna nervously. As he whispered to her that it would be Ok, a nurse ran into the room.

"Dr. Camden! Where have you been? We've been paging you for 10 minutes! Alyssa Jacobs is ready to give birth! We can't hold this off much longer! Let's go!" She cried. Matt nodded, smiled apologetically at Anna, then ran out of the room. Sarah laughed.

"Last month, when I came to visit Matt here, Alyssa Jacobs was trying to get though to Matt about her pregnancy questions, and couldn't. Now she's here having the baby and can't get though to him." She laughed. "That'll give Matt a great rep, huh?" Everyone laughed. Anna let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"They seem to be slowing down." She said. "Thank goodness. You'd never believe how badly contractions hurt." Sarah raised one eyebrow.

"_Really_, I wouldn't?" She asked with a laugh. "I've given birth to two sons, and you think I don't know what contractions feel like?" Anna's eyes widened.

"Wait, you mean they always hurt like that? They weren't just that bad because it was premature?" She asked, sounding panicked. Sarah smiled nervously at Anna.

"Sorry. They're always that bad." Sarah said. Anna moaned and put her head back on her pillow. Sarah laughed and held her hand. "It's worth it though, I mean, sure the actually birthing part isn't the most fun, but look at what you get afterward. I'm sure Lucy would agree, I mean, I now have two amazing sons, and Lucy has four absolutely beautiful daughters. After you go though this, you're going to have a daughter and a son, and you're going to love them with all of your heart. You're going to be fine, don't worry." David nodded.

"And Anna, I'm going to be here every second of it holding your hand. We're going to get your through this. After it's all over, we're going to be parents. Parents, Anna! How amazing is that? Yeah, it's going to hurt, but come on, it's so worth it." Anna raised an eyebrow at her husband.

"Yeah, well then how about _you_ give birth to these babies then, all right? After all it _is _worth it, right_?" _Sarah laughed, remembering how she had been the same way when she was in labor with their first son, Trevor. She had decided to go without pain medication-not the best choice. 15 minutes being giving birth to their son, she had screamed at Matt about how he got this baby is there, and he needed to get it out himself, then banished him from the room. She only let him come back in when the doctor had instructed her to start pushing, because she didn't want to go though it alone. She laughed to herself. She had been _so_ angry with Matt that day for getting her pregnant, but when she first held Trevor in her arms, all of the anger disappeared, and she knew that that moment was the happiest she had ever been. She smiled at David with understanding as Anna continued to yell at him. Boy, Anna would be a lot of fun when she was actually in labor. She shook her head at the thought and mentally planned to be out of the country on August 11th. The nurse entered the room and walked over to Anna, asking her how she was feeling. After she answered that she was no longer in pain, the nurse pulled Anna's shirt up over her protruding stomach and smoothed some of the cool, clear gel over her stomach.

"I'm going to do an ultrasound now so that we can take a look at your babies and make sure that they're alright." Anna nodded, and the nurse moved the probe slowly over her stomach, watching carefully as the images on the screen moved. Finally, she reached her verdict.

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_A/N_: Haha! A cliffy! Review please, and look for chapter eleven soon. 


	11. Shattered Peace

_For disclaimer, please see chapter one. Thanks._

_A/N_: Ok, Ok, I won't leave you in suspense any longer (see aren't I nice?) haha. Enjoy reading, and of course my dears, please review!

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**Sunrise**

**Chapter 11: Shattered Peace**

"Well, Anna, David, the babies don't seem to have been affected by the contractions." She told them with a smile. They breathed simultaneous sighs of relief, and the doctor continued. "Anna, your doctor, Dr. Stevens, just arrived, so rather that having me finish your ultra sound, I'm going to let her take over, all right?" She asked. Anna nodded as Dr. Stevens rounded the corner into the white room. She smiled sadly at Anna.

"Anna, Anna, Anna." She said with a laugh. "What have you gotten yourself into?" Anna giggled as she continued. "Let's see what we have going on." She looked carefully at the screen for a few minutes, moving the probe slowly back and forth, up and down, over Anna's stomach. "Well, this is good news, Avery's growth seems to have stabilized. I was going to check that in your appointment on Wednesday, remember?" Anna nodded. "Connor is still bigger than her, the ratios of their sizes hasn't gotten worse, in fact, it seems to have improved a bit." Anna breathed a sigh of relief. At least one worry could be crossed off the list.

"Now, let's talk about what the next few months are going to be like. As the doctor told you, you went into premature labor, which is when your body starts to try and deliver the babies before it is the right time. This happens about 50 of the time in twin pregnancies, so I'm not too terribly surprised. However, even though they've stopped the contractions for now, they could start again at any time. to prevent this from happening, I'm sorry to say that I need to put you on bed rest. You can get up to go to the rest room, or to walk from room to room, but other than that, I'd appreciate it if you'd try and stay off your feet. In addition, when you _are_ up, try not to do anything that's straining. Leave all the heavy lifting to David here." They all laughed. She reached over and shut off the ultra sound machine, rubbing the gel off of Anna's stomach with a paper towel. "Well, my dear, be careful. I don't want to be called in here again in two days." She said with a laugh, "and I especially don't want to see these babies delivered this early." She turned to David. "Take care of her. Don't let her be walking around all too much. And," She looked at Sarah with a smile. "No more of these shopping trips. Like I said, I'd like to keep Connor and Avery inside of Anna for a few more months."

She reached out to shake David and Sarah's hands, then placed her hand on Anna's shoulder compassionately. "Get some rest sweetie. You obviously don't need to come in on Wednesday for you appointment since it was just to see how the babies sizes were doing. I'd like to see you a week after you start your 8th month though, OK? No later." Anna nodded and the doctor smiled at her before leaving the room. Sarah laughed sadly and looked at her sister-in-law.

"Sorry, Anna. I should have realized that taking you out for so much walking when you're this far along with twins isn't a good idea. I feel terrible!" She said. Anna shook her head.

"Sarah, this isn't your fault. You're not the one who needs to be worrying about my pregnancy. I'm the one who should have been thinking about it. Really." She assured her. "Listen, you don't have to stay here if you don't want to. You have two boys that will be getting home from school in 20 minutes."

"They know how to get in if I'm not home." Sarah said.

"But Sarah, you've done enough! I mean, you drove me here, then held my hand though everything. I don't want you to feel like you have to stay. Really, go home and hang out with your sons." Anna smiled at her. Sarah hesitated.

"All right…are you sure you're going to be OK?" She asked. Anna told her that she would, and Sarah left. Anna looked up at her husband.

"Well, they're OK." She told him with a smile. She put her hands over her stomach and David followed suit. Matt entered the room a moment later. He smiled at them as he walked over.

"Well, Ladies and gentlemen, it's a boy!" He said with a laugh. They both clapped. "Sorry about that. Alyssa, the woman who had the baby, was 9 days late. We were going to induce tomorrow, but suddenly this morning, her water broke! The labor progressed really quickly, which is why I was caught off guard when the nurse came in to get me." Anna assured him that it was perfectly all right. Together, she and David let Matt know what was going on. He nodded slowly as he heard the story.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. I've had so many patients pregnant with multiples go into premature labor. The bed rest is just so that your activity doesn't trigger contractions again. You were lucky this time that we could stop them. If the labor had progressed to far, we would have had to deliver them. How are you feeling, Anna?" She looked up at him.

"Tired, but other than that, I'm fine. The pain stopped pretty soon after they got me on the IV." She explained. "Thanks for being here Matt. It's nice to have a doctor in the room that we know, rather than a ton of strangers." She told him with a sweet smile. Matt smiled back at her with a nod.

"It's no problem. You know that you can call me anytime that you have any questions. I'm more than willing to try and help." He told them. Anna and David thanked him. Anna's eyelids drooped sleepily and Matt laughed. "I'll leave you two alone so that Anna can get some sleep. I'll come and check on you a little later to see how you're feeling." Matt left, and after only moments of it just being the two of them, Anna nodded off into a peaceful sleep, and David decided to do the same.

* * *

Lucy Kinkirk's eyes widened as Sarah told her, over the phone, what had happened on her shopping trip with Anna earlier that day. After the hung up, she sighed and shook her head, feeling sorry for her sister-in-law. When she was pregnant with Mia and Emily, she had been lucky to not deliver prematurely, which had been one of her biggest fear. She couldn't imagine how afraid Anna must have been, especially with this being her first pregnancy. She wanted to go and visit her, but Meg had a friend over, the twins were down for a much needed nap, and Riley had finally stopped crying after her mother took away the TV remote she had been chewing on. Sarah had assured her that Anna would be released from the hospital tomorrow morning, so she made peace with the fact that she would just have to go and visit the mother to be tomorrow while Meg and the twins were at school. Interrupting her thoughts, Riley cried out happily. Lucy looked down at her daughter and placed her finger to her lips.

"Shh honey. Emmy and Mia are taking a nap." Riley mimicked her mother by placing her finger up to her lips and making the 'shh' sound as well. Lucy laughed and sat down on the ground next to her baby, picking her up and holding her to her chest. She played with her soft, blonde curly hair with one finger. Quietly, she leaned over and kissed her baby's cheek. "Mommy loves you, Riley, did you know that? Daddy loves you too, and so do Meggy and Emmy, and Mia. We all love your Riles." Riley giggled softly and reached out to play with her mother's hair like what was being done to her own hair. Lucy smiled as she watched her daughter again mimic her. "I love you, baby girl," she said, kissing her cheek again, then placing her back on the floor. She looked around her home. Sure, it was certainly messy, and chaotic at times, but she loved her daughters and husband more than anything in the world. She knew that she wouldn't trade her life, exactly as it was, for anything. Shattering the peaceful feeling that had come over Lucy, she heard a blood-curdling scream come from outside where Meg and her friend were playing. She quickly put Riley in her playpen, then ran out the front door. She found Meg sitting on the sidewalk outside their home, holding her knee, screaming. Lucy ran to her daughter's side and knelt down next to her. "Meg! What happened?" She asked.

"We were riding our scooters," she sobbed, "and my front wheel hit a rock and I flew over the handlebars and I hurt my knee and my hands!" Lucy tried to move Meg's hand from over her knee, but the girl just began to scream louder. "Megan, I need to see your owie. Move you hands." She instructed. The little girl did as she was told, revealing a blood covered knee. "Looks like you skinned your knee, let me see your hands." She turned over her hands to show ripped up skin along the bottom of both. "All right, let's get you inside and clean you up." She leaned down and lifted her daughter up, carrying her inside, with Meg's friend close behind. When they walked in the door, Lucy saw Riley gripping the edge of her playpen, purple faced and screaming at the top of her lungs. The thing that the baby hated most in the world was being put in her playpen when it wasn't nap time, and she was obviously _not_ happy about it now either. Amy and Mia stood in their doorway with tear streaked faces, holding their hands over their ears. Lucy sighed and shook her head, seeing the mass chaos that had exploded in just a few seconds. She carried her 6-year-old into the kitchen where she sat her on the kitchen counter next to the second. After cleaning off her knee and hands, she bandaged them all up and helped Meg dry her tears. Seconds later, she got down off the counter and was off to play with her friend again. Lucy looked around and her other three crying children. Seeing the Riley's face had now reached an unhealthy shade or maroon, she rushed over and picked her up.

"Shh" She said soothingly, rocking her back and forth in her arms. "It's Ok. Mommy's here, she's got you." Riley calmed down and Lucy layed her on the sofa before starting for her final two children. Mia and Emily stood in their door way crying quietly. Lucy leaned down and reached out to pull them both into a hug. "It's ok girls, don't worry. Meg is just fine, she only got a little owie. There's no need to cry. Come on, let's tuck you two back in." The girls nodded silently and Lucy led them back into their room and helped get them into bed. She walked out and shut the door behind her. When she re-entered the family room, she laughed at the site in front of her. Riley, obviously exhausted from crying was sprawled out on the sofa where Lucy had left her, sound asleep. Lucy a sigh of relief, she ran her fingers though her hair. The house was once again quiet. She smiled to herself. "Crisis Averted."

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_A/N_: Hope that you enjoyed this chapter like always - ) Please review, and let me know what you think of Sunrise so far! 


	12. Unexpected Visitors

_For Disclaimer, please see chapter one. I also don't own KFC._

_A/N: _Hi every one! Thanks for so patiently waiting for a new chapter. I've been out of town, and once I got home, was totally swamped with things to catch up on! I hope that you will enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to review!

Thanks to Katie for the idea of Lucy bringing Anna lunch, used in this chapter.

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**Sunrise**

**Chapter 12: Unexpected Visitors**

Lucy Kinkirk smiled as she pulled through at KFC to get her food. She glanced in the review mirror at her sleeping one year old as she pulled out into traffic and started towards David and Anna's home. Since Anna was on bed rest, Lucy decided to go and visit her, and she wasn't going to show up with out food. She remembered all too well what it was like to be pregnant with twins. It was hard enough to do things while carrying one baby, but with two, it was almost impossible. KFC had always been Anna's favorite fast food place, so that is where she picked up their meals from. She pulled into the Camden driveway, got the food and Riley, then walked up to the door and quietly used her key to let herself in. She sat the food down on the kitchen table, then walked down the hall to Anna and David's room where she heard the TV on. She knocked on the door.

"Anna, it's Lucy, can I come in?" Anna called back yes and she entered. Anna looked at Lucy confused, wondering why her sister in law had come to pay her a visit.

"What a nice surprise!" Anna said, delighted. "It's pretty boring having to sit around all day with no one to talk to. What brings you here?" Lucy smiled at her.

"Well, I thought you might like some company. I had to bring Riley with me, I hope to don't mind. Meg's at school and Mia and Emily are at a friends house, but I couldn't find a sitter for Riles at such short notice. Anna smiled.

"Of course I don't mind! I'm going to have little ones soon enough, I love to see Riley and get used to it." Riley looked around drowsily after being woken from her nap when they got out of the car. Anna laughed and reached out to stroke her niece's hair.

"Yeah!" She looked at her watch. "You're due three weeks from today! Well, Madame, if you'll come this way, your lunch awaits you." Lucy said. Anna laughed. Lucy reached over to the wheel chair sitting next to the bed and rolled it up, helping Anna into it.

"David got so paranoid about me being up that he went and rented a wheel chair for me. Pathetic, I know. The only way he'll let me walk with out it is when I have to go in the bathroom. It's annoying, but I know he's just doing it because he loves me." Lucy nodded in agreement. When they reached the kitchen table, Anna squealed in delight. "Luce! You didn't have to do this!" The cried as Lucy pushed the wheel chair up to the table.

"I remember what it's like to be pregnant and trying to do things like this. If I can help at all, I'm going to!" Lucy sat down as well with Riley on her lap and the woman began to eat. After a half hour, Anna turned to her sister in law.

"I'll be right back. The babies seem to think that my bladder is their trampoline." She said with a laugh. She carefully stood and made her way down the hall to the bathroom. Lucy ripped some chicken off the bone and cut it up, giving some to her one-year-old, who ate the meal happily. A few minutes later, Anna opened the door to the bathroom and came back out. Lucy, being so preoccupied feeding Riley, didn't notice when Anna stopped moving. Anna put her hands onto her stomach as her eyes widened. "Lucy…" She squeaked quietly. Lucy looked up with a frown, wondering what was wrong.

"Are you all right?" Lucy asked, concerned.

"Luce…" She looked down. "I think my water just broke." Lucy quickly saw the puddle under Anna which she was so familiar with.

"Oh my gosh! We have to go to the hospital. Did you pack your things yet?" She asked.

"No! We were going to do it this weekend!" Anna cried, sounding panicked. "Oh my gosh, Lucy what are we going to do?" She began to cry as she held her stomach, feeling lightly her first contraction.

"It's going to be OK, Anna. Don't worry." She helped Anna over to the sofa. "I'm going to go pack your bag. It'll take me two seconds, just try and hang in there OK?" Anna nodded silently. Lucy grabbed Riley and ran to her sister in law and brother's bed room. She quickly grabbed an extra shirt for Anna, her tooth brush and tooth paste, and her cell phone off the dresser, then tossed everything in a small duffel bag and hurried back out to Anna. "Let's go." She said. She helped Anna get up and into the car. As they drove, Lucy dialed Annie and Eric on her cell phone. "Mom, It's Lucy." She said when Annie answered. "Could I drop Riley at your house, it's an emergency. Anna's in labor." She paused as Annie answered. "Ok thank you so much we'll be there in a few minutes." Annie was waiting outside when they pulled up. She quickly took Riley and squeezed Anna's hand caringly.

"Good luck honey. Have you called David yet?" Anna nodded as she dialed him for the second time on her cell phone.

"He's not answering! Come on, Dave, I need you!" She cried in frustration. Annie looked at Lucy.

"Go, we'll be fine. I'll go pick up Meg from school at three. Where are the twins?"

"They're at their friend's house. I'll call over there and see if they can stay the night." She said. Lucy thanked her mother quickly, kissed her daughter good bye, then jumped back in the car and started for the hospital. For the next twenty minutes, Anna continued to try and reach her husband, still will no luck.

"Lucy! Where could he be?" She cried. "He-" She stopped, holding her stomach in obvious pain. She breathed slowly for a minute before she could speak again. "He isn't answering his work phone, his cell, his pager…" Lucy reached over and put her hand on Anna's arm.

"Calm down, Anna. We'll get a hold of him. Just try and breathe ok. We're almost there." Minutes later, they pulled into Glen Oak hospital. Lucy helped Anna inside, where they got her into a wheel chair and signed in. She was wheeled into a room by a nurse and hooked up to a fetal monitor and an IV with fluids to keep her hydrated. Lucy pulled a chair up next to the bed, holding Anna's hand through the increasingly bad contractions. They continued to try and get through to David. Lucy reassured Anna again and again that David would make it, but in her heart, she was beginning to worry. Where could he be? Dr. Stevens came through the door with a smile.

"Anna, I came as soon as I got the call! Looks like we're gonna do it this time!" Anna nodded nervously, not being so sure that she _wanted_ to give birth right now. The doctor put on some plastic gloves and examined Anna carefully. She stood up a moment later. "Well, you're dilated about two centimeters, so you're on your way. Is your husband here?" They explained to her their dilemma and she shook her head sadly. "Anna, I'm sure that he'll get here on time. For now, your sister-in-law is here to sit with you, and that's nice, right?" She asked, trying to help raise Anna's spirits. Anna nodded. The doctor stood. "I'll be back to check on you in a half hour or so. If you need anything hit the button next to you. It'll call a nurse in and they can get me." Anna said Ok and Dr. Stevens left. Anna's face scrunched up in pain as she was hit with another contraction. She held her stomach tightly and Lucy looked at her sister in law with sympathy. She put her hand on Anna's stomach until the contraction was over and she relaxed.

"I'll go get you some ice chips, Ok?" Lucy said. Anna nodded and Lucy hurried out of the room. After finding the ice ships easily, she stopped in the hall and put her cell phone up to her ear, calling David again. She sighed and hung up when she got his answering machine for what seemed like the billionth time that day. She walked back into the room and handed Anna the ice, which she took gratefully.

After five and a half more exhausting hours, the doctor visited their room for the 7th time. At this point, Anna had been in labor for close to eight hours, and her sanity was growing thin. After examining her patient, Dr. Stevens stood again.

"Well, Anna, it shouldn't be too much longer. You're just about there." She said with a smile. "We'll start pushing in about 15 or 20 minutes, I predict. Anna nodded, then turned to Lucy wide eyed. Knowing her sister in law's concern, Lucy walked into the hall and dialed again David's number. Two minutes later, she rushed back into the room and looked at Anna.

"I got through to him!" She cried. Anna breathed a sigh of relief. "He was down at a meeting. He's on his way. He should be here in like five minutes." Anna nodded. Only a few minutes later, David ran through the door and over to his wife.

"I'm so sorry, baby! I had my cell silenced since I was in a meeting, and my pager is at home! I feel so terrible!" Anna smiled at him sadly.

"It's OK. I'm just glad you're here now, I-"She stopped and crunched up her face in agony. David held her hand through her long contraction. Doctor Stevens entered the room and came over to Anna. After examining her one final time, she nodded.

"Ok, this is it! Let's get these babies out of there!" She explained to Anna exactly what she needed to do. Anna looked at Lucy with obvious fear in her eyes.

"Luce, I can't do this. Oh my gosh, Lucy make this stop!" She mumbled sounding incredibly panicked. "I can't do this, no way, this cant happen. Lucy!" She started to cry. Lucy reached out and took her left hand, while David still held her right.

"You can do this, sweetie, I know you can. Just do what the doctor says. David and I are going to be right here. Come on, Anna, you're doing great." She reassured her. Anna nodded. 15 minutes later, a baby's cry rang through the small hospital room.

"It's a boy!" Cried Dr. Stevens, holding up the messy baby to show Anna and David before letting David cut the cord and handing him off to the nurse to clean him up. 6 minutes later, a second cry came loud and clear. A few minutes after the second baby was handed off to be cleaned, a nurse approached the bed holding a tiny blue bundle in one arm and a tiny pink one in the other. Anna reached up and took one baby in each arm. As she did, her eyes welled up with tears.

"Well mom and dad, do the babies have names yet?" The nurse asked, smiling at the new parents. David nodded, not taking his eyes off his new son and daughter.

"The boy's name is Connor David, and the girl is Avery Sophia." He said. The nurse nodded and left with a smile. David reached over and took Avery, who he cradled carefully in his arms.

"Hi Avery…I'm your dad, and this is your mom, Anna. She's the most amazing woman in the world…"

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_A/N_: Review please! 


	13. Sleep Deprivation

_For Disclaimer, please see chapter one. I also don't Barbie or Barney (thank goodness)._

_A/N_: Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad that you're all happy with the birth of the two newest Camdens. Enjoy and review!

* * *

**Sunrise**

**Chapter 13: Sleep Deprivation**

This chapter starts in August, one month after the last chapter took place.

An incredibly sleep deprived Anna rubbed her eyes and moaned when, for the 3rd time that night, a baby's cries awoke her. She rolled over and looked at the clock. 4:23 AM. "Lovely." She whispered to herself. She glanced over at her husband, who was still sound asleep. He had never been woken by the crying, a typical man she said. She rolled groggily out of bed and stumbled down the hall. As she neared the door to her babies' room, a second cry began…obviously the other baby had been awoken. She sighed and walked into the room, first reaching into Connor's crib and holding him in her right arm, then getting Avery and holding her in her left arm. She lowered herself into her rocking chair and began to rock back and forth slowly, singing to the one month olds. The babies quickly fell back asleep. After a few more minutes, she slowly stood and lowered the twins back into their cribs. She looked at the clock in their room and saw, to her dismay, that it was already 5:15. Where did the time go? She walked back to she and David's room and collapsed into bed, exhausted. Within moments, her sleep deprivation took effect, and she nodded off into a light sleep.

When David awoke at 7:45, he looked over at his sleeping wife with a smile. Confused, he listened, but heard only silence. He hadn't even heard the babies cry all night! Maybe they were getting better at sleeping through the night, he reasoned. He got up and tip toed into his closet, quickly slipping on his robe and walking quietly out into the kitchen, where he started a pot of coffee. He stretched and picked up the paper. This was the good thing about being a columnist…most of the time he got to work from home. This came in especially handy with the new babies in the house. As he went to sit down at the table to read, a baby's cry caught his attention. He ran to the twins' room, not wanting the other baby or his wife to be woken. He scooped Connor up into his arms and carried him into the kitchen.

"Good morning!" He whispered to his son cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?" The baby stopped crying and started up at his father with wide blue eyes. David glanced at the clock. "Wow! You and your sister slept in this morning!" He said astonished. He sighed, realizing that meant that they must have been up a lot during the night. "Have you been giving your mother trouble? Well, cut it out." He instructed. The baby's face became purple as he started crying again. When David took a whiff of the air, he quickly understood why. "Whoa! For such a little guy, you sure can make one nasty smell!" He said. He walked over into their living room which had a small baby changing mat on the floor for when they weren't able to use the one in the babies' room. He held his breath as he quickly changed his son's dirty diaper. When he was finished, he threw the diaper in the diaper genie and breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew! At least that stink is gone, huh Mr. Connor!" His jaw dropped as he turned and saw his wife standing in the end of the hall, holding their daughter. "Wh- When did she cry?" he asked, astonished.

"She's been crying for like five minutes. Looks like you were a little pre-occupied though." She said with a tired smile, motioning at Connor. David smiled back at her, then walked over, kissing her good morning. "I'm going to go give these two their breakfast it you don't mind. While I do, It looks like your coffee is ready. Would you pour me some? It's de-caf I hope, you know I can't have regular while I'm still breast feeding."

"Of course I remember." He told her. He handed Connor over to his wife. As soon as she entered the babies' room, he ran to the coffee maker, dumped his coffee, and put some new grounds…this time de-caf. Maybe he just wasn't cut out for this job…

* * *

Sarah shook her head disapprovingly as her five year old, Jared, walked over to her sporting his dinosaur underwear on his head. He had a gleeful smile on his face as he tried to pretend like nothing was odd about his choice of apparel. He walked past his mother and over to the kitchen table where he poured himself a bowl of cereal and began eating. Sarah raised one eye brow and walked over to him, hands on her hips.

"Jared Tyler, what exactly do you think you're wearing? It's not funny you know, it's 8:40! We have to leave for day camp in 5 minutes, Jared, and this is what you've been spending your time doing?" She looked around. "And _where_ is your brother?" She asked, irritated.

"Sleeping." Jared informed her between cereal bites. Sarah's eyes widened.

"What do you mean _sleeping?_" She asked.

"I mean, sleeping! He slept through his alarm." Sarah grabbed the underwear off her younger son's hair and stormed into Trevor's room, where she threw the curtains opening, waking the 8-year-old rudely.

"Trevor! Get up! We have to leave for day camp in five minutes, and I have to go to work! Get dressed." She ordered, tossing a pair of jeans and a shirt out of his closet. Every morning, the kids went to a day camp at their school while she went to work. It wasn't the most fun way to spend their last month of summer break, but it was necessary with two working parents. Trevor moaned groggily and rolled out of bed, putting on the clothes his mother had given him. "I'll put a breakfast bar in a bag for you and your brother." She said. Trevor nodded and Sarah hurried back into the kitchen where she tossed two breakfast bars into two bags. Trevor came down the hall, looking like he was ready to go. Jared drank the rest of the milk from his cereal and tossed the bowl in the sink. With that, they were off.

After Sarah dropped the kids off at their camp, she drove over to the doctor's office she worked at. She walked inside and into her small office. Lifting the top of her laptop, she clicked on her schedule. Her first appointment was in 20 minutes. As she was about to shut the computer again, a small message popped up on her screen. 'You have 1 new e-mail message(s)' it read it bright blue letters. She clicked 'read' and the message came up. She smiled as she saw that it was from Matt.

Hey Honey,

I didn't get to tell you goodbye this morning before I left for work. You looked to peaceful to wake you up. I hope that your morning went well. I love you. –Matt

Sarah smiled and replied, telling her husband that the morning went _somewhat_ well, and that she loved him too. They e-mailed back and forth for a few minutes, then Sarah noticed that it was already time for her first appointment. She told her husband goodbye, shut her laptop, and started out the door.

* * *

Riley giggled joyfully and she took her spoon and shot some peas across the room at her sister. Meg screamed and took cover. When the rain of food had ended, she sat back up and yelled for her mother. Lucy came into the room and, seeing the little green spots all over the table and floor, shook her head.

"Mommy! Riley threw peas at me!" She cried angrily. Lucy looked at Riley with her hands on her hips, which set the baby into another giggling fit. She rolled her eyes.

"Riley," Lucy scolded, "No throwing your food. You need to eat it like a big girl. You're almost two, for crying out loud!" Riley's bottom lip quivered as she tried not to cry. Lucy laughed and ran her fingers through her daughter's wavy blonde hair. "It's OK honey, don't cry. You just need to behave like a big girl at the table. How about this: after you finish your lunch, we can plan your birthday party!" Riley squealed and clapped her hands. Lucy laughed and kissed her daughter on the cheek. "Oh Riles, mommy can't believe that you're already going to be two next week!" She said quietly. "Where did the time go?" When the youngest Kinkirk finished eating, she and her mother sat down on the sofa and began to decide what to do for her second birthday party. "What theme should it be?" Lucy asked. Riley put her finger on her chin and began to think. After she had been silent for a minute, Lucy decided to make some suggestions. "Barbie?" She asked. Riley shook her head. "Hmm…Barney?" Riley shook her head again. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

"Puppies!" She cried triumphantly. Lucy laughed and nodded.

"Puppies it is." She said, writing it down on her piece of paper. "Who should we invite?" She asked. "Let's see here: Charlie, Jared, Trevor…and of course your new baby cousins, Avery and Connor…" She kept thinking.

"Mia, Emmy, Meg!" Riley said with enthusiasm. Lucy laughed and patted her daughter on the arm.

"Of course your sisters are invited, silly!" Riley giggled. "Is that it? That's 5 people, and 8 counting your sisters. And of course 9 counting our birthday princess!" Riley smiled.

"Princess." She repeated and Lucy nodded.

"That's right. Riley is mommy's little princess," Lucy told her and kissed her daughter on the head. "Who mommy loves very, very much."

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_A/N_: Hope you liked it! Please review! 


	14. Rivalry

_For Disclaimer please see chapter one. Thanks. Also, I just made up the title "Playzone" so if you know of a place actually called that…lol I don't own it._

_A/N:_ Hi everyone! I am so sorry that it took this long to update. We had a family emergency and had to unexpectedly fly out of town, which has obviously put a halt of my writing-time. I hope that you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Sunrise**

**Chapter 14: Rivalry**

Lucy Kinkirk flopped down on her sofa, exhausted. She put her hands over her face and sighed. Her whole body, from the top of her head to the very tips of her toes felt heavy. She hadn't slept well for the last few nights, which was probably the reason for all of this. For some reason, Emily and Meg had _not_ been getting along well for the last week or so. Her constant refereeing between her four and six year old had exhausted her during the day, and kept her up during the night. She remembered when she used to fight with Mary at home, and it made their entire home seem less fun. She hated to see tension growing already between her daughters. She leaned back and shut her eyes, happy that Riley had _finally_ gone down for her nap. As soon as she began to nod off, she was jolted back awake by her 4 year old daughter's voice.

"What if I _don't_ want to help you pick out your doll's clothes, Meg?" Emily screamed. "Cause I don't!"

"Well I don't care what you wanna do, you baby!" Meg retorted. "I'm your big sister and that means that you have to _help_ me! You're the worst sister _ever_!" As if to add to the chaos, Riley began to cry, after being awoken from her nap. Lucy moaned angrily and stood up she walked into the hall as Meg's door slammed. Emily screamed and pounded on her wall, frustrated. Lucy sighed, she ran to Riley's room, where she quickly soothed the baby and got her to lie back down. Then, she walked out of the room and knocked on Meg's door. After a few minutes, the scowling 6-year-old opened her door, hands on her hips. "What?" She asked.

"I heard you and Emily fighting. What's going on?" Lucy asked. Meg's frown deepened and she sighed dramatically.

"We were playing dollies and it was fun but then I couldn't decide what to have my doll wear and asked her for help and she said no and I said yes, and she said no, and then she left." She told her mother in one breath. "She's dumb."

"Now Meg," Lucy scolded, " I don't want to hear you _ever_ calling one of your sisters any names, do you hear me? In the hall I heard you call her a baby, and just now you called her dumb. Next time I hear any names coming out of your mouth that aren't nice you'll be grounded, do you understand?" Lucy said seriously.

"Fine." Meg said quietly. Lucy told her daughter to stay there, then went to get Emily. She brought her 4 year old down the hall to stand face to face with Meg.

"Now, Emily, what's your half of the story?" She asked.

"We were playing dolls and then she said 'go get dolly some clothes' and I said no, and then she yelled at me and I left, and she followed me." Emily said. "She told me to come back and I said no again and then she said that I'm the worst sister ever!" Lucy sighed.

"Listen up, you two. Mommy's not feeling good lately, and she certainly doesn't have the energy to try and deal with you two fighting like this. From now on, I don't want to hear an unkind word out of either of you. If you feel like you need to be mean to each other, than you can just go sit in your rooms until your attitude has changed. Get it?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am." The girls answered in unison.

"Good. Now, each of you need to go to your rooms and play _quietly_. Your yelling woke up Riley, and that's not happening again. Emily, Mia's coloring in your room, so why don't you go join her." The girls nodded and went their separate ways. Lucy shook her head slowly as her eye lids drooped. She walked slowly back to the sofa, and collapsed onto it. Within moments, she was sound asleep.

"Lucy…" A voice broke into the woman's deep slumber. "Lucy! Honey wake up!" She slowly opened her eyes, she squinted until her husband came into focus. "Are you OK?" He asked her, sounding concerned.

"What?" Lucy asked, her voice cracking. "I'm fine, what are you talking about?" She asked. Kevin frowned.

"Baby, do you have any idea what time it is?" Kevin asked her. Lucy shook her head. "It's midnight…you've been asleep since one in the afternoon!"

"Oh…"Lucy replied, sounding dazed. Suddenly, she gasped. "Are the kids OK? Where are they?"

"They're fine." Kevin told her. "I got home early, at 4:30. I tried to wake you up a few times, but you kept going right back to sleep. Riley was crying in her crib when I got home, and the girls were ignoring her completely. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just tired, Kev. I guess I just finally got the sleep that I needed." She said. Kevin shook his head.

"Lucy, this isn't normal. You need to see a doctor, and soon. I'm calling first thing in the morning to make an appointment for you, and I'm not going to work tomorrow…I already called and told them. Now, I'm going to bed, and if you're still tired, I'd suggest that you sleep now.

"Are you kidding me, I'm still exhausted. Let's go." She said. Kevin helped her up and they started down the hall to their room.

* * *

Anna Camden smiled softly as she held her 2 month old daughter up over her head, turning slowly. Avery's tiny, soft brown curls swayed as she moved through the air. She pulled the baby down onto her chest and kissed her head, slowly breathing in the scent of the shampoo she had used a few days ago. Avery giggled happily and Anna smiled. She loved being a mother. Of course it was hard sometimes (particularly the nights) but it was so worth it. David walked into their bedroom where his wife and daughter were a minute later, holding Connor in his arms. Anna smiled and cooed at him happily. She leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Good morning, sleepy boy! Mommy thought you weren't ever going to wake up!" She told him with a laugh. "Your sister has been up for almost an hour!" She looked at Avery with a smile "Haven't you?" She asked, tickling the baby's chin, Avery's face lit up with a smile. Anna looked at her husband. "Are you ready to get going?" She asked. Today they were taking the babies over to 'Playzone', a sort of baby gym, where they could play. David nodded and motioned to the two diaper bags he had slung over his shoulder.

"Yep, and I've got the stuff all packed up." He winked at her and linked his free elbow in hers as they started to the garage as their new family of four.

A/N: I hope that you enjoyed the chapter…sorry that the Anna/David section was so short. I wanted to give an update about them, but didn't particularly have a lot to say about them haha. There'll be more about them soon! Don't forget to review!

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	15. Searching For The Answer

_For disclaimer, please see chapter one. Thanks. I also don't own_

_**A/N**_: Thanks for the reviews! As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter. For those of you lucky people who are on Spring Break this week, I hope you have a good one!

**Sunrise**

**Chapter 15: Searching For The Answer

* * *

**

Simon Camden smiled as he opened the door to he and his wife's apartment, flowers held behind his back. Paige walked into the small living room and smiled at her husband warmly. As she approached him to give him a hug, he pulled out the flowers and she gasped. She reached out and took them with a smile. After thanking him, she hurried into the kitchen and put them in a vase. When she finished, she took her husband's hands in her own and stood on her tip toes to kiss him. He smiled at kissed her back, freeing his hands to pull her closer to him.

"Welcome home." She said as she pulled back.

"Thank you." He said. "How was your day?"

"Just fine. Only had a few meetings. And yourself?"

"It was busy…I go to trial with Mr. Kenim tomorrow." He answered her. Paige stuck out her tongue jokingly. Since the day Jonathon Kenim had walked Simon's door, it had been all that he could do to not go crazy. He was, Simon truly believed, the most annoying man he'd ever met in his life. At least it would be over tomorrow…hopefully.

"Great." She said half-heartily. " Hey, I have dinner ready, let's eat while it's hot." She said. Simon smiled and squeezed her hand as they walked into the kitchen.

"Thanks!" He said with gratitude. He always loved it when Paige had dinner ready. Though it wasn't something that he expected from her, he still appreciated it when it happened. They say down together and dug into their dinner-salmon tonight. Simon looked up at his wife as they ate. "So," He began, "David called today. It was great to hear from him."

"Yeah!" Paige said happily. "How are the babies and Anna doing?" She asked, putting another bite into her mouth.

"Great. He says that Anna's just a natural mother, and is absolutely great with the babies. This is the hard thing about living so far away from my family. The last time I saw Matt's kids, Trev was 5 and Jared was only 2! And Luce's kids…well…Meg was 3, and Mia and Emily were only 1! I haven't even met little Riley. Now, I have another niece and nephew who I haven't met. And boy, I haven't seen Ruthie's kids since Cameron was 2 and Allie was one. When they sent the school pictures of the kids, I thought I was going to faint, seeing how big they've gotten!"

"I know, it's hard. Obviously, unlike you I only have one sister, and Alice only just got married a few months ago, but it's hard not to see them any more now that you and I moved here to New York. I love the city, I really do, it's just, you know, I miss my family." Simon reached across the table and took Paige's hand.

"I know honey." He told her. "This is where we belong though. I see how you love the city, and so do I. If we moved back now, it would just feel so weird."

"It would. Don't worry, I don't want to move or anything. I love it here." She smiled at him and they kept eating. David looked up at her again.

"Are you sure? Because I want you to be happy. As long as I'm with you, I'll be happy.

"I'm sure, I promise. I love it here." She paused then quietly added "But thank you."

* * *

Anna sat down on her bed next to her husband with a heavy sigh of relief. She leaned back and put her head onto her husband's stomach. He reached forward and stroked her hair softly.

"They're finally asleep." She said with a smile. David smiled as well. Their two month olds seemed to take longer now to fall asleep then they did when they were much younger. It seemed to take just as long to get them down for their naps as it did for them to actually _take_ them! Anna looked up at David and kissed him. Now that they had the babies around, the were very rarely alone. Of course, they loved being parents with all of their hearts, but they still needed their time together like anyone would. As Anna began to shut her eyes, a loud cry was heard coming from down the hall. She moaned quietly then stood up. "The princess calls." She said, recognizing the cry as Avery's. She walked down the hall and into the twins' room just as Connor woke up as well. Anna glanced at the clock and saw, to her dismay, that the babies had only been asleep for 5 minutes. "Fine you two, you win." She said, picking up one in each arm. "Man, you guys are getting _heavy_!" She whined, pretending to drop them, which the babies found very amusing. She smiled as they laughed. Their laugh had become her favorite sound lately. A baby's laugh was like none other, and she wished she could bottle it up and save it forever. David walked in behind her and reached for Avery, who Anna gladly handed over.

"So much for mommy and daddy's nap time, huh?" He and Anna laughed, which made the babies laugh as well. David smiled. "Maybe that isn't such a bad thing though" he said, staring into his daughter's misty blue eyes, and at that moment, all that was wrong in the world seemed fine.

* * *

Lucy stepped out of the doctor's office feeling sick to her stomach. Kevin stood up when he saw her and walked over. He had taken the day off work to take his wife to the doctor, however she had asked him to wait in the waiting room while she went in. They had dropped the girls at Annie and Eric's house for a few hours, so it worked out for every one. Kevin frowned, seeing that Lucy was pale.

"Luce, are you OK?" He asked sounding nervous.

"I'm fine." She said. "Let's go, we need to go get the kids from my mom and dad's house. I hate to take up their day because of my problems. Come on." She started out of the office in a hurry. Stunned, Kevin stood there for a minute before chasing after his wife.

"Lucy!" He said when he caught up to her, "What's going on? What did the doctor say? Is something wrong? Honey, whatever it is, it's going to be ok, we'll all be there for you." Lucy nodded.

"I know…let's just…go. I need to think." Kevin frowned, then finally nodded apprehensively.

"Ok…but we have to talk about this sooner or later. Honey, I'm worried about you." He said. Lucy ignored him and climbed into the driver's side of the car. Kevin sighed and walked to the passenger side. This was going to be a bumpy ride.

* * *

_**A/N**_: Sorry for how short this was! Don't worry, I'll update again soon. I just wanted to get something out there for you guys since I haven't updated in awhile. Review please! 


	16. Dropping the Bomb

_See chapter one for disclaimer. Thanks. I also don't own a line that I chose to use in this chapter, which is actually from the movie 'In Good Company'._

_A/N:_ Thanks for the reviews. I won't keep you waiting any longer. o)

* * *

**Sunrise**

**Chapter 16: Dropping the Bomb**

October 2

The drive to Eric and Annie's house was silent. Lucy's face stayed in the same position the entire way there: she looked neither happy nor sad…purely emotionless. She pulled up into her parents' driveway and unbuckled. She reached for her door handle, and got out before Kevin could stop her. Quietly, she hurried up to the door where Eric greeted her cheerfully.

"Hi Luce!" He said, wrapping his arms around his daughter. "How did your doctor's visit go?" He asked. When he got no response, he looked over at Kevin he shook his head at a loss for words. Eric frowned. "Is something wrong you guys? Lucy, do you need to talk, we can go in my office. I won't even charge you!" He added, trying to make her laugh. He was unsuccessful.

"No thanks dad. I'm…_we're_…fine." She pushed past her father and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Meg, Mia, Emily, Riles!" She called. "Mom and dad are here!" Eric smiled.

"Meg's playing with the Barbies in the family room, the twins are making cookies with your mom in the kitchen, and Riley's sleeping on the sofa by the tv. I'll help you round them all up." He said. He walked into the kitchen to get the twins while Lucy approached her sleeping daughter who, she saw, had been watching Barney. She reached down and scooped the little girl up into her arms. Riley's face crunched up and she stretched her arms up above her head.

"Good morning, sweetie." Lucy said. "It's time to go home. Let's go get you in your car seat." She carried her out and strapped her into her navy blue car seat. The almost 2-year-old's head slumped almost immediately, and Lucy laughed quietly to herself. He youngest daughter could sleep anywhere, any time. She herself had never been like that. Her parents had tried everything to get her to sleep when she was a baby. On car rides, she'd scream and cry until her face was a deep purple color. Riley had never done that, however. Just then, Mia and Emily came running out of their grandparents' home, faces covered in cookie dough. "Whoa there, girls. Go inside and clean up a bit at the sink before you get into the car." She told them somewhat sternly. She saw Meg come out the door as the twins went back inside. As she was about to greet her 6-year-old, however, her head began to spin and she broke out into a cold sweat. Meg looked at her mother with concern.

"Mom?" She asked. When Lucy didn't respond, Meg took her hand and pulled her to the grass where Lucy immediately sat down. She put her head between her knees to try and stop the spinning. After a few moments, the world seemed to re-allign. She raised her head and looked at her daughter. "Mom! Are you OK?" Meg cried.

"I'm ok, honey." She assured her. "Mommy's just feeling a little under the weather right now. Don't worry." She said, getting to her feet. Meg shrugged her shoulders and got into the car. Moments later, the twins, now looking much cleaner, jumped into the van and got into the 3rd row where their matching pink and navy blue car seats were. Meg helped buckle her younger sisters in, then looked at her mother with a smile.

"Ready!" She cried. Lucy nodded and went inside for a moment to thank her mother and father for babysitting. Then, she took Kevin's hand and they walked out to the car. Before Lucy could get into the driver's seat, Kevin jumped in front of her and took the keys.

"I'll drive." He said. "You just need to sit down and rest." Lucy nodded and walked over to the passenger side, where she sat down with out a word. Kevin buckled up and they pulled out of the driveway, starting for home. When they arrived back at their place, the twins ran inside to go color, and Meg, at Lucy's request, took Riley to her room to finish her nap. Kevin and Lucy started inside. Lucy walked over to the fridge to get the girls a snack, but Kevin shut the fridge door and took his wife by the hand, leading her into their room and shutting the door behind him. He took his wife by the shoulders and turned her to face him.

"Lucy, you can't go around like this all day." He told. "Whatever's going on, what ever the doctor said, we can handle it. I'm here for you, and so are the girls, and your siblings and parents. Tell me…what's going on? What did the doctor say?" Lucy opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, she burst into sobs. Kevin put his arms around her, slowly stroking her back. She put her head down onto his chest and he could feel the wetness of her tears soaking through his shirt. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Finally, she looked up at him with puffy eyes.

"Kevin…I'm so sorry." She said. "It's all my fault." She said, before beginning to cry again. Kevin got her a tissue which she gratefully accepted. "Kev…" She paused for a long time, and Kevin could see that she was thinking. "Honey…I'm pregnant." Kevin's eyes widened and he stood in shock for a few moments.

"No Luce, you can't be." He told her, laughing to himself. "You're on the pill, and when you're on the pill, that doesn't happen." He tried to rationalize. Lucy shook her head and bit her bottom lip.

"I was so tired after taking care of the kids and getting them all into bed, that a few weeks ago I forgot to take it, Ok? I forgot for two days, and as soon as I realized it, I started taking them again, but I guess…" Kevin was silent for a minute.

"That's…that's great. A baby? That's really great." He said genuinely.

"How is this '_great_', Kev? I'm the one staying home all day with the girls now! I'm exhausted! I'm not the mental or physical condition right now to carry a child, let alone have a 5th baby! I have to take care of the girls…and I have a 1 year old to be carrying around and trying to raise!"

"Well so do I Lucy, because last time I checked, these are my kids too! But you know what, it looks like this is what God has served us right now, ok? And I know this isn't exactly what we had planned, but this is what's happening!" He yelled. "Weather you like it or not, you're pregnant, and we have another child on the way! So let's be adults here! Whining about this…situation…isn't going to change anything!" Lucy's lower lip quivered slightly and she took a step back from her husband.

"Maybe it's that easy for you, Kev, but I have news for you." She said in a quiet, intense voice. "I'm the one that has to carry this child around for the next few months. I'm the one who has to change my diet, go to the doctor, give birth! I think I'm entitled to be a little worried about this!" Tears began to roll down her cheeks, but she paid them no attention. "So excuse me if I'm feeling a little overwhelmed about this. You don't know what it's like to try and take care of these girls all day long, every day Kevin! I'm so tired- so, _so_, tired! I…" She looked straight at her husband. "I have to go. You can have a little taste of my life. Enjoy." She grabbed her purse off of the bed and stormed out of the room, down the hall and into the garage where she climbed into her car and backed out of the driveway. Kevin chased her, but was unable to catch up. She stopped the car in the middle of their street as she switched it into drive.

"Where are you going?" He cried after her.

"Out." She told him in a monotone voice. "I'll be back when I'm back." With that, she sped down the street and around the corner. Kevin put his head in his hands and sunk to the ground. What would he do now? After hastily brushing away a tear that had made its way down his cheek, Kevin stood and turned to face his home. Meg came running out the door sobbing she ran to her father.

"Why are you and mommy fighting?" She yelled. "Where is she? What's wrong?" Kevin leaned down and put his arms around his 6-year-old daughter.

"Mom had to leave for a little bit, but she'll be home soon don't worry." He told her unconvincingly. Meg was about to begin questioning him when they heard yelling from inside the home. Kevin ran inside to find Mia hanging for her life off the side of one of the high cabinets. Emily, terror stricken, was jumping up and down under her twin and waving her arms. Kevin ran up and grabbed his four year old, bringing her down to safety. "What were you doing up there?" He asked.

"Me and Emily want dinner!" She explained. "And you and momma sounded kinda busy so we tried to get the plates ourselves and…"

"I see." Kevin said. "I'll get you dinner. You two just go play, Ok? And Meg, I think Riley's up from her nap. Can you go get her out of her crib?" Meg nodded and went to get her youngest sister. Kevin sighed and started dinner, all the while thinking about his children, his wife, and most of all, their newest addition on the way.

When he woke up the next morning, Kevin saw, to his dismay, that his wife was still not present. He got up and got dressed as quickly as possible, then hurried into the kitchen and got the kids breakfast and then Meg, Mia and Emily off to school. Now that the twins were in Kindergarten, they had all day school, and had so far been liking it pretty well. He sat at the table helping Riley finish off the last of her apple sauce when the phone rang. He jumped up and answered it before the first ring and finished.

"Hi Kev, it's Eric." Greeted a familiar voice. "Listen, I know you have a ton going on…I not supposed to call you, but I think that you should come over here…Lucy's been here since last night with Annie." Kevin put his hand over his heart in mixed shock and relief.

"Oh thank God she's ok." He said. "I'll be over as soon as I can. I have to get someone to watch Riley first."

"Bring her. I'll take her and you can talk with your wife." Kevin thanked him and they hung up. He grabbed Riley and ran with her out to the van. After getting her in her car seat, he pulled out of the driveway and started for Annie and Eric's house. On the way there, he called into work saying that he was taking a 'personal day'. As he hung up, he pulled into Annie and Eric's driveway. After parking sloppily, he grabbed his daughter out of the back seat and ran to the front door where Eric greeted him. His father-in-law grabbed Riley and pointed upstairs towards he and Annie's room mouthing "she's in there". Kevin ran up the stairs taking two at a time. When he reached his mother and father-in-laws' room, he took a deep breath and knocked quietly. Annie answered the door and smiled sadly at him. She opened the door the rest of the way and walked out.

"I'll give you two some time." She said quietly and started down the hall. Kevin hurried towards his wife and wrapped his arms around her.

"Kevin! I'm so sorry. Oh honey, I'm so sorry" Lucy cried, tightening her grip on him. He kissed her forehead lovingly and sat down next to her on the bed. He pulled her close to him and she laid her head down on his shoulder.

"It's ok. I'm sorry that I yelled at you. I was totally out of line." He told her. "I'm supposed to be here to protect you, not put down your fears." He raised her chin so she could look at him. "I'm here for you, Luce. I know that this is scary. I mean, we have four kids, and I know that you definitely weren't ready for another baby…I learned that a few months ago when we talked about it! The thing is though…everything happens for a reason…God knows what he's doing. I love you, and I love our baby, weather or not we planned on having it." He kissed her and put his hand onto her stomach. "Oh my gosh! Lucy!" He said excitedly, laying her down onto her back and pulling her shirt up a bit over her stomach. "Look. A bump. This is really happening…" Lucy nodded.

"Ready or not." She said.

"Wow…your stomach really is kind of big already…how did we not notice this?"

"Well…" Lucy blushed slightly. "I had a feeling. And just in case I stopped taking the birth control pills a while ago. Then I started gaining weight, and being sick, and I was pretty sure, but then I started to doubt it. Next, as you know, I really started feeling all the effects and it made me think again that maybe I _was_ but I really didn't want to be, so I put off going to the doctor. And when I went yesterday, she confirmed my suspicions."

"What did you find out? How far along are you? When are you due? Do you know if it's a boy or girl?" He asked. Lucy smiled and laughed quietly.

"I'm..well…" She looked down. "I'm sorry, honey. I should have gone to the doctor sooner…" She sighed. "Please don't be mad." She waited a moment before speaking again. "I'm 4 months along…5 next week on the 6th." Kevin's eyes widened. "I'm due Febuary 6th, and no, I don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet."

"Does it feel like a boy?" Kevin asked hopefully.

"Right now, it really feels more like a stomach flu than anything." She laughed. "So, baby number five's coming…soon." She said. "And we can do this." Kevin kissed her on the cheek and put his hand over her stomach.

"Yes, we can…and we will."

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A/N: I hope that you enjoyed this rather dramatic chapter! Please review! 


	17. Revealing the Truth

_Please see chapter one for disclaimer. Thanks. I also don't own the phrase "Having a baby changes everything"._

_A/N:_ Hi everyone. Thanks for all the reviews! This will be the last chapter of Sunrise! I hope that you have all enjoyed it! Following this final chapter will be an epilogue to let you all know how the Camdens, Riveras, Kinkirks and Petrowskis are now. Don't forget to review! In this chapter, we'll do _short_ overviews of our main plot holders.

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**Sunrise**

**Chapter 17: Revealing the Truth**

One month later

Sarah Camden grabbed two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and placed them in front of Trevor and Jared. She smiled over at Matt, who was sitting at the table reading his paper, with his lunch already half gone. She got herself a cup of coffee, then sat down at the last available seat. Slyly, she slid her foot across under the table and touched her husband's. He looked up at her with a wink and she smiled. Saturdays were the best. She loved to have her entire family around her. Especially now that school was back in, she rarely got to see her children, or her husband for that matter, during the afternoons. Even though her home was currently pretty uneventful, she knew that this was where she wanted to be.

* * *

David Camden looked down at his smiling three month old daughter with pride. She and her brother were getting big so fast. Avery was already beginning to look like her mother. Her eyes had changed to green recently, and her tiny brown ringlets were a dead giveaway that she was the offspring of Anna. Connor, on the other hand, had definitely taken on the look of his father. With dark blonde hair and blue eyes, he almost could have been mistaken for David or Sam when they were young. Anna entered the room and walked over to her husband and daughter, slipping her arm slowly around her husband's waist and leaning her head on his shoulder. She peeked at her baby girl and smiled. As cheesy as they were, those commercials were right…having a baby _did_ change everything.

* * *

Lucy Kinkirk smiled mysteriously at her husband as he walked in the door from work. He leaned down to kiss her, being forced to be a bit farther than usual from her by her growing stomach. Kevin waited expectantly for a minute, but when his wife didn't tell him what he was waiting for, he decided to ask.

"So…did your appointment go all right today?" He asked. Today had been Lucy's 6 month check up, and he had been anxious all day to hear about it.

"It went great. Everything going along right on schedule. Three months left." She said.

"And…" Kevin trailed off. "Did you find out?" Lucy nodded, and that same mysterious smile returned to her face. "And?" He asked. She looked up at her husband and opened her mouth slowly, loving the moment of suspense.

"It's a girl."

The End

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed this! Please review, and read the epilogue on the next page! 


	18. Epilogue

_See chapter one for disclaimer. Thanks._

Epilogue

Four years have passed since Sunrise ended.

Sarah and Matt Camden both still work as a pediatrician and an OB/GYN, respectively. Trevor is now 12 years old and in 7th grade. He loves middle school and is glad to finally be out of the same school that all of his cousins go to! Jared is 9 and in the 4th grade. He too is happy that his brother is in middle school: it means that he is the only one in his home that goes to his school any more! He loves not being referred to as "Trevor's little brother"…well, as much as he used to be, any way.

Carlos Rivera is still a firefighter. Now that Charlie is 10 years old, Mary has gone back to work part time as a receptionist. Charlie is in the 5th grade and his favorite hobby is playing Nintendo.

Kevin Kinkirk remains a police officer and Lucy a stay at home mother. They now have six children, and don't plan on having any more. Meg just turned 11 and is in the 6th grade. Mia and Emily are 9 and in the 4th grade. They are happy to be in different classes, because now their teachers can't refer to them as 'the twins'! Riley is 5 and enjoying the 1st grade with vigor. Katelynn, who was born exactly 2 months and 21 days after Sunrise ended is 4 and in Preschool. She's very happy to finally get to go to school like the rest of her sisters! And finally, two years ago, Kevin was thrilled to get the son he has always wanted. Michael, or Mikey as his family calls him, is 2 and definitely keeps Lucy on her feet. She says that if you look up "Terrible Two's" in any dictionary, that you will find her son's name there. Being the only son, he has decided that he needs to make up for lost time. He's broken most of his sisters' girly toys, and generally terrorized his 6 older siblings. Everyone in the Kinkirk family is looking forward to seeing him reach his 3rd birthday o)

Simon and Paige Camden decided to leave New York and move back to Glen Oak 4 months after Sunrise ended when they found out that Paige was expecting their first child. It was a hard decision to make, but now that they're nearer to both of their families, they agree that it was a wise one. Their son, Parker turned 4 last week. They also have a daughter, Liliana, who is 2 years old, and unlike her cousin Mikey, seems to be an angel. Following their '2-year-tradition' as Simon and Paige call it, Paige is expecting their third child, a son, in 2 months.

Ruthie and Peter Petrowski are still a horse riding instructor and teacher respectively. Their son, Cameron, is now 9, and will be turning 10 in two weeks and is in the 4th grade. Allie is 8 and a half and is enjoying the 3rd grade. Though Allie commonly pesters Ruthie and Peter to give her a younger sister, they have decided to keep their family number at four.

Sam Camden is still an engineer and Liz a production assistant. They have decided to not have children, as their jobs are incredibly demanding. They are perfectly happy living just the two of them, and wouldn't trade it for anything.

David Camden has taken a better paying job as an engineer (like his twin brother), after Anna decided to remain home permanently as a stay-at-home-mother. Connor and Avery are 5 years old and in the 1st grade. When, two years ago, the Camdens (and Anna's doctor) were _shocked _to find out that Anna was again pregnant with twins, Anna and David immediately decided to not continue their family after their new additions were born. Kyle and Jeff are now almost three, and proving to make Avery miserable as the only girl in her family. When she recently asked Anna to "now have two sisters" for her, Anna went to lie down at the mere thought of having more twins. Though her doctor has assured her that having a 3rd consecutive set of twins would be incredibly unlikely, she still remains set on the idea that she will not be having any more children, and luckily, David agrees with her.

A/N: That's it folks! Please review!


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